Security 26
by Mackiecam
Summary: In a follow up to Fixation 25, Ranger fights with his continuing concern over Stephanie's safety. As she struggles not to scream, Stephanie grapples with the status and insecurity of their relationship. Set amongst the usual zany captures, this romp is about relationships and apprehensions, human trafficking, marriages and continuing sexual harassment. Rated T for innuendos.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Characters and some situations are not my own. They have been lifted from JE's books. **_

_**Security Twenty-Six: A Stephanie Plum-Inspired Novel**_

**Chapter One**

Two days ago Ranger gave me a choice. I could see where a relationship with him went, or I could walk away. The catch? If I wanted to investigate the potential of a relationship, I would have to accept greater security. I would have to wear a tracking watch. I would have to focus on my self-defence lessons. I would have to practice shooting my gun. I would have to pick clothes, cars, hairstyles, lifestyles so that I blend in.

None of that is a problem. Hell, who am I kidding? _All_ of that is a problem. Wearing a watch isn't a big deal, except that I don't like my movements tracked so closely. I sullenly put up with self-defence lessons at the best of times and shooting a gun makes my stomach feel squishy. And while my hair, clothes and makeup blend in already, my car does not. For that matter, neither do some of my friends.

Ranger is my one-time mentor who turned into a friend and protector, who turned into part-time boss, and who now may become something more. Former Special Forces, he is the owner of Rangeman, a high-class security company that caters to the wealthy in Trenton, New Jersey. With the looks of a GQ cover model and the skills of Batman, his dark brown hair and eyes make my insides melt. He is half a foot taller than my 5'7" height, has a muscular build that is testament to his daily workouts in the gym, and only wears black. He is extraordinary in both looks and temperament. Quiet, slow to anger, steady, determined, focused, he has been my rock for a long time.

I am Stephanie Plum. Unlike Ranger, there is nothing extraordinary about me. I have non-descript brown curly hair, boring blue eyes and an average shape. I am a mutt, a mixture of Italian and Hungarian roots all wrapped up as a third generation American. I only have one good feature, and that is a cute little nose I inherited from my grandmother. For some reason, Ranger likes me anyway.

I am a bounty hunter. Not a very good one, but I get by. I work part-time for my cousin, Vinnie, at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. A bounty hunter is also known as a fugitive apprehension agent, or a bond enforcement officer. He or she is someone who retrieves fugitives and streams them back into the system.

When a felon is arrested, they are assigned a court date to plead their case. A bail amount will also be set. If the felon does not want to wait in jail for their date to show up, they are allowed to pay the bail to let them walk free. This bail is an insurance policy of sorts. The felon will be out that money until they show up for their court date, at which point the money is returned to them.

Many accused do not have the liquid cash to pay the court system, but they also do not want to wait in jail. That is where the bail bonds office comes in. For fifteen percent of the price of the bond and some collateral, the accused can walk free until their court date. When they show up for court they get their collateral back but not their fifteen percent.

If they don't show at court, the bondsman is not happy. That is where I come in. I find the accused and return them to the system. For this, I get two-thirds of the fifteen percent fee and the bondsman retains the other one-third. While although all those ten percents can add up, there is no base salary. My pay is solely dependent upon the number of people who are FTA – Failure to Appear – and upon my ability to capture the skips. That is where the problem lies. I do not have a lot of ability and am successful more based on luck and tenacity rather than skill.

More recently, I started working part-time for Rangeman as a researcher. When a new security system is being designed, or when a client wants background checks on potential new employees, or when Sales wants information to help them tailor a marketing strategy, they come to me. While it does not have the excitement, variety or flexibility that I enjoy as a bounty hunter, it does provide benefits and income security. My bank account thanks Ranger for the opportunity. Personally, I am not so sure. The work is pretty boring.

I was sitting at my desk on the Operations floor of the Rangeman facility, a seven-story office building in the heart of Trenton that contains three floors of staff residences, one of which is Ranger's large and luxurious penthouse apartment; one floor plus the basement of training facilities; with the remaining three floors office space. I was working on researching the staff backgrounds for a new account when Ranger came in my office, shutting the door behind him. He was holding a large jewellery box in his hands. "For you", he said. "I know you have not made any decisions about us yet, but it is important to get you monitored. I don't want to take any chances with you like we did a couple of days ago." I scared Ranger – and myself – two days ago. An infatuated skip tried to kidnap me with the intention of taking me to Mexico. He pistol whipped me and, when I was knocked out, got me into his car. When I came to I was able to convince him that I needed to go back to my apartment to get my passport before I went away with him. More importantly, I was able to stealthily phone Ranger and let him listen in on my conversation with the skip. Ranger was waiting for us at my apartment with Joe Morelli, my ex-boyfriend who wants to be my current boyfriend, and police officer extraordinaire. When I brought the skip through my apartment into my bedroom, Ranger cuffed him and Morelli took him away.

It particularly hit home with Ranger. He had just returned from leading a rescue mission for the wife of a co-worker of his, someone who had been kidnapped as a result of her husband's secret government work. At first when I was kidnapped Ranger thought that I was also taken because of his own covert work. Normally overprotective, he has become even more so ever since.

"No matter what happens with us, I would like you to wear this watch. Just by knowing me you are in danger."

I opened the box to find a beautiful silver metal watch with a bracelet band. The face, on the largish-side, was gunmetal gray done in a mother-of-pearl finish with silver hands, and there was a small diamond at the twelve o'clock position. It exactly suited my style – classic but fashionable at the same time. My mouth dropped open.

"I didn't think you were the sport watch sort of person", he said. "And I thought you would be able to wear this watch with anything." I just looked at him for a minute, stunned. I could not believe that Ranger was talking about accessorizing women's clothing.

"It's beautiful", I said. "I just feel kind of bad. I didn't get you anything." I smiled. "Seriously though, I do feel bad. You wouldn't be doing this for any of your other staff members."

"Besides Ella, you are the only other female staff member." Ella is Ranger's housekeeper and chef. She is responsible for feeding the entire Rangeman staff as well as making Ranger's life organized and easy. "You are a natural target. I would want you monitored just for that reason. Our personal relationship makes that need to monitor you all the more necessary."

"I already am monitored. I have a tracking device in my purse and another in my car. I have even stopped trying to remove and dispose of them."

"If anything ever happened, you would likely be taken from your car and often your purse would be left behind. We were just lucky a couple of days ago that you were allowed to keep your purse. There is a lesser chance of having your watch removed. Having said that, I would like to continue to have your car monitored and a tracker in your purse."

"Don't you think this is a little bit of overkill? I know I was in danger, but I am always in danger. That wasn't the first time I have been kidnapped and, realistically speaking, it probably won't be the last." And, unfortunately, that was true. I had a long history of getting into scrapes and Ranger had a long history of getting me out of them.

"Exactly why it makes sense for you to have a tracker in your watch." When I hesitated he said, somewhat exasperated, "look, do you like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful."

"Then forget it has a tracker in it and wear it just because it is pretty. Because it is something I bought for you."

I took a deep breath. "Okay." I got it out of the box.

"That particular watch can go anywhere. It is waterproof up to fifty metres, so you can wear it in the shower. You should never have it off your wrist, even when you are sleeping."

I struggled not to scream. It felt like the walls were closing in around me. "Does it work like a normal watch, or does it have a panic button built into it? Can I talk directly to the control room through it? Can I say 'beam me up, Scotty' and instantly move from one location to another?"

Ranger looked like he was thinking about smiling. "Smart-ass. It's just a watch that works in a normal way except for the fact that it has a small tracking device in the back of it."

"Okay", and then, because it would make Ranger feel better, I put it on. It did look pretty, and I thanked Ranger for thinking of me.

"Don't mention to anybody that you are wearing a tracker. That will be our insurance policy. The control room knows, but I don't want the general public to know. If that information got out, no matter how innocently, it could result in the watch being removed and then I would have no way of tracking you should you need it."

"I won't. It will be our – and the control room's – secret." I got up and walked around my desk over to Ranger, and captured him in a hug. "I'm fine. You're fine. Everybody's fine. We made it through the last crisis and hopefully we will not have another one again." I gave him a kiss meant to reassure, but instead quickly turned passionate. After a few minutes, both of us were breathing hard.

Ranger reluctantly pulled away. "I have a meeting with Tank in a few minutes." With another kiss, he said "are we still on for training this afternoon?" I grimaced, then nodded my head. Ranger smiled at my look. "See you at four o'clock in my office. We can do half an hour in the shooting range followed by an hour of stretching in the gym."

Oh, goody.

Ranger turned and, opening the door, walked out of my office, leaving me to stare at my new watch. The bracelet was designed to be loose, more of a chain than a band, and fit more like a bangle than a standard watch. It slid around my wrist and was quite comfortable. In truth, I adored the watch. I just didn't adore the increased level of scrutiny.

* * *

I walked into Ranger's office at four o'clock, the completed research file in hand. I placed it on his desk. "Let's get this over with", I said.

Ranger smiled and got up, followed me into the storeroom and picked up a box of bullets for my gun. He picked up a box of bullets for his own gun as well. "I haven't been in the range myself for a while. I booked the range for both of us to practice at the same time."

We took the elevator down to the gun range in the basement. Walking along the hallway to the range, I could feel my body protesting in much the same way it always protests. My heart pounded, my feet dragged, my eyes prickled – I hate shooting guns. It does not help that I have shot and killed three people, the most recent a couple of months ago. Taking someone's life leaves a mark, and the mark it left on me is that my distaste of guns has grown even more. That is saying something, since I hated them to start off with. It does not matter that in each case the person was shot in self-defence. I cannot seem to get past the thought of the person as a son, brother, and friend. In each case the person who was shot is all too human to me, and that is what gives me nightmares.

Getting to the shooting range, we put on protective gear and sent targets down to the far end. I let Ranger start shooting first. Then, concentrating on my stance and aiming carefully, I emptied a clip into the target. All shots hit the circles, although only some were bulls-eyes. This was an improvement from over a month ago, when none were bulls-eyes and more were outside the circles than were in. I looked at Ranger's target. All shots went through the very centre of the bulls-eye, carving out the paper to the point where it appeared as though only one very fat bullet went through the heart of the target. I looked at my own haphazard target and sighed.

"You will get there, Babe. It just takes practice. I didn't start out this way." He came over to me, caught me up in a hug, and kissed the top of my head. He reached around me and put up a clean target and sent it down to the end of the range. "Again", he said. He stood back and watched me.

I refilled my clip with bullets, aimed, and fired. After I finished shooting another clip into the target, again with mixed results, I was frustrated. In my head I was visualizing shooting a whole clip into the centre of the bulls-eye. In reality, however, only half hit the bulls-eye and only one hit the absolute centre. And the one that hit the centre was a lucky surprise.

We refilled our clips and sent clean targets down to the end. Then Ranger adjusted my stance and gave me a couple of pointers. We each dumped our clips into our targets, then stood back. I got a greater percentage of bulls-eyes than I had before. Once again, all of Ranger's shots were dead centre. We refilled our clips and again sent clean targets down to the end. Trying to remember everything that Ranger had ever taught me, I shot another clip into the crosshairs. My aim was getting better even though my frustration level was getting higher.

"Now we will practice on body targets", said Ranger as he cued up new targets for us. "You okay?" he asked. After the last time I shot someone, I found it very hard to shoot at body targets. Even though it was just a piece of paper with the outline of a person on it, it reminded me too much of actually trying to hit someone. I would get very upset and would have difficulty shooting at them. While I don't like them any more now, I don't fall to pieces like I did immediately after shooting Brodie.

I nodded my head. Taking a deep breath, I said "let's do it." Ranger smiled at my resoluteness. Out loud I chanted "it's just a piece of paper". Inside I was screaming "help me!" But I was able to get a full clip into the target with a number of bulls-eyes. Ranger cued up another target and said "pretend that this time the target is a skip who has been threatening you." I gave Ranger a dirty look. He looked like he was thinking about smiling. I put the gun down and closed my eyes for a moment. Envisioning Berginni's face, the skip who tried to kidnap me a few days ago, I transferred his face up on the target in my mind's eye. I opened my eyes, brought up the gun, and shot a clip into the target's chest. "Good", said Ranger when I had finished. "You got a couple of kill shots in there, and you incapacitated him with the rest. Now do it again." He cued up a fresh target and sent it down to the end. I shot another clip, but I was starting to get tired and my aim was showing the strain. We refilled the clips and put the guns back in their holsters. Ranger shoved the used targets into the recycling bin and picked up the boxes of remaining bullets. Then, taking off our protective gear, we headed upstairs to the gym.

I don't know what I traditionally hate more. Shooting a gun or working out in the gym. It didn't matter, however. Ranger made both gun and self-defence training a requirement of my job. Unlike shooting a gun, over time I have learned not to abhor working out so much. It still wasn't my favourite thing to do though.

Three weeks ago an assailant and I got in a fight. He kicked me when I was down and cracked one of my ribs. I have successfully used this as an excuse to not work out in the gym. This excuse works on everyone except Ranger. Now that he is back from his rescue mission, he is determined to get me into the gym again.

We walked over to the mats. There were three staff working out. All of them looked like their day had just gotten better by my being there. I ignored them, taking off my gun and stripping down to my sports bra and yoga pants. There was a collective intake of breath. Ranger turned to them. "I am shutting down the gym for the next hour. Go for a run and do your cardio outside." There were some good-natured grumblings, but the men left quickly. Ranger's word was law.

Ranger locked the door after them. He then started me on stretches. I hate stretches. Ranger is built like a rubber band. Me? Not so much. I gamely did my best, Ranger helping me gently extend the stretch at times. After twenty minutes of stretching, Ranger announced that we would be doing a light workout. "I don't want you to lose everything you learned before you were hurt. We will do the actions in slow motion so you can practice the steps and teach your body the way it needs to move. Then we will finish with some more stretches." My distaste must have shown on my face, because Ranger pulled out the ultimate bribe. "After we work out, you can have a shower, we can have some dinner, and then I will give you a massage."

"Which hold do you want me to start with?" I asked. Ranger smiled, but really, what could I say? Ranger's massages are amazing. He knows just the right pressure to use and when to use it.

* * *

When I had removed all my clothing except for my panties and was lying on the bed, I said "there is something I wanted to talk to you about." I hummed as Ranger hit a particularly stubborn knot.

"What is that?"

"It is getting time for me to return to my own place." Ranger faltered in his massage, then quickly resumed kneading my muscles. "I have been living in your place for the past month continuously and for most of the month beforehand and, no matter how nice it is, it isn't home."

"This is it? That is your decision? You don't want to try to see if a relationship is possible?"

"Going back to my own apartment has nothing to do with seeing if a relationship between the two of us is possible. It is just recognition that this is not my place and as of yet, we don't have a relationship. We are good friends, friends with benefits. But whether you or I would like to develop that relationship into something more is irrelevant. What is relevant is this isn't my place."

"Did you not feel comfortable living here for the past month?"

"Of course I did. That is part of the problem. I felt too comfortable. I find I am thinking of your place as home, and that is dangerous because it isn't."

"Your apartment isn't safe. Everybody and their brother can and has broken into your space."

"It is true that I have a higher incident rate of break-ins than is normal." Ranger let out a snort on that. "But there is danger everywhere and you cannot keep me wrapped in cotton wool. I cannot stay in the Rangeman building 24/7. I have to leave to do my job."

There was a pause. "We still haven't taken down the camera over your front door", said Ranger. "If you are determined to go back, I would like to leave the camera there for as long as the building superintendent will let us. Then it can be monitored along with the rest of the Rangeman buildings. And, if the building super will let us, I would like to monitor your fire escape."

"Deal." I figured it was as good as I was going to get.

"Is it so bad living here?"

"No, it is just too comfortable living here. I like it too much. But this is your life, not mine. I have been living your life extensively over the last couple of months. It is time for me to face reality and return to my own life. And it's time for you to face reality again as well. I am fine. I will be careful. But I have a job to do and it is time for me to go out and capture some skips. Vinnie has three for me to do, and I think Connie said a few more are due in court this week." Connie Rosolli is the office manager for the bonds office. Born into a mob family with the skills to prove it, Connie is more Italian than I am in every way, from her short buxom figure to her fine brown mustache to her frequent and expressive hand gestures. She is a good person and is one of my closest friends.

"Are you staying here tonight?"

"Yes. I will move back home to my apartment tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I live on the second floor in a bare-bones apartment building about ten minutes away from the Rangeman building. It is also ten minutes from the bonds office and ten minutes from my parents' house – less if I am late for dinner. If my building was a movie, it would be a low budget, B-grade film. The appliances and the bathroom décor are from the seventies, which is a coincidence because most of the residents are seventy or older. It lacks many of the amenities of a much larger building, but has plenty of parking and an elevator. An added bonus are my fellow dwellers. They are fun, friendly, happy to be alive, and remarkably easygoing about my many mishaps. In fact, I suspect that my frequent break-ins, murders – not all done by me – and fire bombings just serve to spice up the residents' lives. At least, that is what I keep telling myself.

"Hey, chicky, it's been too quiet. I haven't seen you around", said Mr. Wolenski as he sat on his walker just outside the main doors to the building, watching the world go by and enjoying the hot summer sun. "Now that I see your hamster cage, I hope this means you will be moving back into your apartment."

"I am", I confirmed.

"We were all worried about you when we didn't see you for a while."

"I was fine. I was just staying with a friend. Things were getting a little hairy."

"It is nice to have you back."

"Thanks, Mr. Wolenski." I went up to him and kissed his cheek. "It is nice to be back."

Ranger and I went inside and got on the elevator. Mrs. Bestler was working the buttons. She is bored stiff and likes to play elevator operator in her spare time. She has a lot of spare time and I frequently see her. "Hello, Stephanie. I haven't seen you for a while. We were worried about you. Your apartment has been quiet. I try to walk past it every day to make sure your door is locked up all nice and tight."

"Thank you for doing that. It is nice to know I have a group of people in the building who look out for me."

"Where have you been?" she asked, moving her dentures around in her mouth and looking forward to getting a piece of juicy gossip to pass on to the other residents.

"I have been staying with a friend. I had a secret admirer who was harassing me and I wanted to lay low for a while."

"Is this your friend?" asked Mrs. Bestler, eyeing Ranger up and down like he was a particularly succulent piece of meat.

"Yes, he is."

"I would stay with him, too." She whispered to me, "he is a beefcake!"

"I know", I whispered back. "But I'm trying not to let him know that in case it goes to his head." I smiled and I could see out of the corner of my eye that Ranger was thinking about smiling as well. The elevator doors opened up on my floor, and Ranger and I walked down to my apartment. I unlocked and opened the door, and took in the quiet stillness of the place before I stepped inside. Ranger put my attack hamster, Rex, on my kitchen counter and I dropped my duffel bag in my bedroom. I turned to walk back out into the living room, but Ranger was right behind me blocking my way. "Remember that you are always welcome at my place, Babe, in case things ever get a little hairy again." He gave me a deep kiss that, once our tongues touched, had me reconsidering my decision to move back into my own place.

After a few minutes, he pulled away. "Hector will be here soon."

My heart pumping, my pulse racing and my breath coming in little gasps, I said "Fast is good. I can be fast."

His hand came up to brush against my breast. "No. The next time we make love it will be slow and sensual." I gulped. I knew what slow and sensual felt like, and it felt pretty darn fantastic. I gave him another kiss to try to make him change his mind. He pulled away. "Slow and sensual, Babe", he said. "Slow and sensual."

There was a knock at the door and Ranger immediately turned still, hyperaware of his surroundings. I gave Ranger a quick kiss, then went to let Hector in.

Knowing that Hector scared me – it is the teardrop tattoos of his kill marks under his eyes that got me worried – Ranger stayed with Hector while he installed a video camera on my fire escape. Since three is a crowd, I drove down to the bonds office. Parking in the rear parking lot, I entered the building through the back doors. "Hey, girlfriend", I said to Lula. Lula is the office file clerk who spends more time chasing skips with me than she does filing in the office. It is just as well. She is the worst file clerk ever. She is not much better as a bounty hunter. She is actually a retired 'ho. She still has the wardrobe of a hooker and, judging by the interest we get when we are chasing skips, I imagine she was a much better 'ho than she is a skip chaser. She has permanently tanned skin, is well into the plus sizes in clothing although she wears only too-small spandex, and her hair is as loud as her personality. I spend a lot of time with Lula. She is a good friend, although she is also one of my key impediments to my ability to blend in. _Everybody_ notices you when Lula is around.

"Connie is out at the courthouse bonding out Shirleen Brown again, and Vinnie is at home with Lucille." I raised my eyes at this. Vinnie is never home with his wife if he can avoid it. Vinnie looks like a weasel, has the personality of a rat, and is a sexual deviant who happens to be an excellent bondsman. An oversexed little man-slut who will have sex with anybody and anything. I can say all that since he is my cousin.

Vinnie isn't known for spending time at home. Quality time for him is spent away from his wife as much as possible. The last time he went on vacation with Lucille he spent most of the vacation in the casino, Lucille spent most of the vacation on the beach and, according to Vinnie, it was his best vacation ever. I don't know what Lucille thought.

"Do we know why Vinnie has decided to spend some time with Lucille?"

"No, not exactly. But I think she found out about the duck and he is trying to mend fences." It is purported that Vinnie once had a sexual relationship with a duck. While I don't know if that is true – or even if it is possible – I do know for certain that he did have a relationship with a dog.

I took the files from my basket and looked over the three that were outstanding. "The first is for Shauna Cition. She was arrested on a drug possession charge when she purchased some bad weed and decided to report the poor quality of the weed to the police. She wanted her dealer arrested for false advertising. The police came to inspect the evidence and arrested her on the spot."

"She sounds kind of dumb. She would be a good one to go after."

"Listen to the other two before you decide. The second file, Samuel Heskell, was arrested for reproductive sabotage. He encouraged his girlfriend to have sex. She agreed on the condition that he wear a condom. He decided he wanted her to have his baby, so he poked holes in the condom. Unfortunately he had an STI which he gave to her. He is wanted on sexual assault charges."

Lula's eyes were bugging out of her head. "He tampered with the condom?" she said, horrified. "That is why you always have to carry your own. Let's go get that nasty bastard."

"What about the third? The last file is for duelling."

"That's a charge you don't hear of very often."

"No, I don't think I have heard of it ever before. When our skip, Elijah Braden, challenged his sister's suitor to a duel, the sister called the cops. I guess she didn't know that duelling is a punishable offence. Or, she didn't care. Both her brother and her suitor are still alive."

"Was that a duel with swords? Because that would be kind of hot, like the Three Musketeers."

"It doesn't say, but I imagine that it was more of a duel with guns. You know, stand with your back to the other guy's back and each walk ten paces away, then turn and try to shoot the crap out of the other person. At least, that is how they do it in the movies."

"Hmm. Dumb, dumber and dumbest. It's hard to pick which file would be the best to do first. Do you want to pick them out of a hat, or do you want to go by alphabetical order this time?"

"Let's do alphabetical order by last name", I said. I looked at the files and rearranged them in order. Duelling, drug possession, then reproductive sabotage. It would be a full day.

I reopened the duelling file. Elijah Braden lived with his sister and mother in the projects and was listed as having a job as the stock boy at the local Shop 'n Bag. I phoned the store and found that he was not scheduled to work until six the next morning. Lula and I locked up the office and headed off to the projects.

We parked our car two houses down the street from the Braden residence, got out of the car and suited up. I tucked my cuffs in the back of my waistband of my jeans, activated my pepper spray and tucked it in my front pocket, and moved my gun to the top of my bag. I was set. I looked over at Lula. She was tucking her gun in her waistband at the small of her back, putting her stun gun in her front pocket and placing the head-bashing Maglite in her purse.

"This will be a quiet takedown", I said. "No head-bashing or shooting will be required."

"Yeah, I know that", said Lula. She slung her full purse over her shoulder and walked up to the front door. I followed behind, shaking my head.

Lula rang the doorbell and, when the door opened, I asked to speak to Elijah. "He is in the shower at the moment", a teenaged girl said.

"We need to talk to him. We can wait until he is finished." When she hesitated, I said "we can wait outside. We just want to talk to him for a minute or two."

She closed the screen door and locked it, leaving the main door open, and ran up the stairs to bathroom calling Elijah's name. Lula and I stood at the door, listening to the conversation between the sister and brother as they talked over the shower and through the bathroom door. Finally, Elijah finished showering, dressed and walked down the stairs.

I introduced ourselves and explained why we were there, showing my fake badge and handing him one of my real business cards.

"I can't go to jail. I will be leaving my sister all alone and she needs me to protect her."

"This trip isn't taking you to jail. This trip to the precinct is for you to get your court date rescheduled. Right now you are a wanted fugitive and bounty hunters, the bonds office, and police are all looking for you. By getting your court date rescheduled you will no longer be a fugitive and no one will care where you are. You will be better able to safeguard your sister."

Elijah thought for a moment, then agreed. "All I want to do is protect her. She looks too old for her age and is getting far too much attention from guys. This last one was the final straw. He is twenty-one, for Christ's sake. My sister is fourteen. He was all swagger, thinking himself the best thing since sliced bread."

"That's not cool", Lula said to the girl. "Do you realize, when you were born he was seven years old? He was in grade three before you could even talk. That is kind of sick when you think about it."

"But he is so handsome and wealthy." Elijah's sister smiled and sighed.

"Yeah, in a drug dealing sort of way", said Elijah in disgust. "Do you see why I need to be here to protect her?" he said, turning to us.

"I am sure they will be lenient on you when you go to court based on what you have told us. However, the longer you try to avoid court the worse it will look for you. You need to get rescheduled. You aren't due at work until tomorrow. Why don't I take you in now so that you can get it over with and enjoy the rest of your day off?" Elijah looked unconvinced. "Think of it this way", I said, "do you want your sister saying that she has a brother who was protecting her and is awaiting his fair trial, or do you want your sister saying she has a brother who is a wanted fugitive?"

He turned to his sister and gave her a hug. "Be good while I am at the police station. I will be back as soon as I can be. And if that cradle-robbing bastard comes around again, throw him out on his ear. Because if I find out he has made advances on you again, there will be no telling what I will do. I would be facing a much stiffer charge than simple duelling."

Elijah's sister swallowed hard, then gave her brother a hug and kiss. "I will be careful", she said.

"I am supposed to take you into the station in cuffs. It is protocol. However, I trust that you will not run away from me. I am not going to cuff you at all. If you abuse that trust, I will hunt you down and make you wish you had not." This wasn't entirely true. I would hunt him down and possibly even find him. But I was remarkably low on the ability to make him regret a decision to get away from me. However, he did not know of my deficiency. He swallowed hard and told me that he would do everything he was supposed to. Apparently my tough-guy act was getting more convincing.

I walked with him down the street to my car and bundled him into the back seat. Making sure the child locks were engaged, I drove Lula to the bonds office before driving Elijah to the precinct.

"Lula is allergic to police stations", I explained. "It is her many years as a former 'ho that has her all antsy at the precinct."

"Are you antsy at the precinct as well?" he asked.

"No. My former boyfriend and many of my friends are cops. I feel quite comfortable in the precinct."

"What happens next?"

"I am not allowed to rebond you out. I don't have that ability. I will call Connie and have her come down to the precinct and rebond you out right away so that you can go home again." I parked my car in short-term parking and opened the back door up. I walked Elijah into the building and, apologizing, cuffed him to the bench. I then got my paperwork filled out by the docket officer. I walked over to Elijah. "Good luck", I said. "I hope it works out all right with your sister."

I called Connie as soon as I left the precinct. "I have an absolute sweetie pie at the station ready to be bonded out again. You may want to drive this one home as well. He doesn't have enough money on him for a taxi and bus service will take too long. If you can't drive him home, let me know and I will pick him up."

"Which felon is he?"

"He is the one who was arrested for duelling. He just wants to look after his sister and was at his wit's end. His fourteen-year old sister was being preyed upon by a twenty-one year old man. I don't blame him for challenging the man to a duel. His sister does not look fourteen and has become the object of affection for many boys in the projects."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I drove to the office, passing Connie on Hamilton. I walked into the bail bonds office to find Lula gyrating on the couch, tapping her feet to some imaginary music, snapping her fingers, screeching at the top of her lungs in a rough facsimile of singing. I came up behind her, making her jump.

"Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me!" Lula exclaimed, putting her hand on her heart.

"Sorry. I tried to make noise, but you could not hear me over your singing. Who do you want to go after now?"

"There are three new files in your basket. But according to this morning, the drug possession charge is up next, right?"

"Okay. Shauna Cition. She lives with her father on Stark Street." This area of Trenton extends from the bad to the very bad. It was always dicey working on Stark Street. If you could make it past the drug dealers and gangbangers without incident, it was a bonus. It was an even bigger bonus if your car was waiting for you when you came out from picking up your skip.

I opened my purse and pulled out my gun. Lula's eyes bugged out. "I am tired of always having to call Ranger for help whenever we go to Stark Street", I said. "I want to go in loaded for bear." Lula and I locked up the office and walked out to my car. I got my utility belt out of my trunk and put it on, filling the pockets and loops with my gun, stun gun, pepper spray, cuffs, and Maglite. I also put on my Kevlar vest. Lula watched all this with big eyes.

"I don't think I have ever seen you get so serious about doing a takedown before", she said.

"I promised Ranger I would be careful and it would be hard to explain to him why I was not wearing my utility belt or vest when I was on Stark Street."

"If Ranger found out."

"Ranger always finds out. He's got a spidey sense." We got in the car and I headed to Stark.

"Are you living with him now?"

"No. In fact, I moved back into my own place this morning."

"How did Ranger handle that?"

"He wasn't happy. Ever since I was kidnapped a couple of days ago, he has become overly concerned about my safety. He doesn't perceive my apartment to be secure and, compared to the Batcave where he lives, it isn't." I call the Rangeman building the Batcave because, like its namesake, it is shrouded in secrecy and is one hundred percent secure. "However, he now has cameras on both my apartment door and the fire escape. No one will be able to get into my apartment without Rangeman knowing. It's great that he cares so much, but the level of protectiveness is a little stifling."

"I don't know. I think I would like having someone as hot as Ranger look after me."

"You aren't having to live with it. I thought the tracker on my car was bad enough. Now I can't have any private visitors to my place without Ranger knowing. He will know everything about me and I know nothing about him. It isn't fair." This isn't entirely true. Two days ago, after knowing Ranger for years, he told me about some covert work he was doing for the government in the War on Drugs in South America. I could not tell Lula about that, however. If I told Lula, it would no longer be secret. It would be spread across Trenton within minutes. Lula is not known for her discretion.

"I see what you mean."

"While he will always have his secrets, I am not allowed to have any. It is hard. I would like to be mysterious as well."

"I have never pictured you as a mysterious person. You are so open and upfront. You aren't particularly sneaky or vindictive."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes, it is. Just like with me. I am not particularly mysterious either. I am an in-your-face person. It's easier to be like that, to not have to be secretive. It must be tiring to have to guard yourself so closely all the time."

"I think it becomes a way of life, until it becomes difficult to be open. For the longest time, it is what kept Ranger alive." I parked the car at the side of the road in front of Shauna's apartment building. As we left the car a group of teenage boys came walking towards us, two of them looking at Lula and me while they rearranged their privates and made kissy noises, the other four looking at my car.

I turned to the boys. "I can see you looking at my car, and I have to warn you, I am in a nasty mood. The first person I see touch my car will have his nuts blown off. The second person will have his nuts and his foot blown off." I turned and walked into the apartment building. There was no elevator and Shauna lived on the third floor. I looked at Lula. "No elevator. Now I really am in a nasty mood." We turned to the stairs and started to climb. By the second floor we were tired. By the third floor we were out of breath. We paused at the top of the stairs and I looked out at my car. It was nonexistent. So were the youths who were stealing it. Apparently they took my threat to shoot them seriously. I sighed. "See? It's a good thing I got suited up."

Lula just walked away from the window, shaking her head. "You have the worst luck with cars. If they aren't being stolen they are being stink bombed, spray painted, or blown up. I'm glad I don't have as many problems with my car." Lula's car is a red Firebird and it's her baby. I am glad she doesn't have as many problems with her car as well. I remember when a grocery cart hit her car and gave it an inch-long scratch a year ago. Lula stomped around the office for days.

We walked down to Shauna's apartment and rapped on the door. Her father answered the knock. I introduced ourselves and explained that we were there to pick up Shauna to take to court to reschedule. "Is she here right now? We can take her down this morning and she could be bonded out again by this afternoon."

"Picking up Shauna will cost you", said her father, a cagey gleam to his eye.

"No, it won't. Do I need to come in there and root her out? You never know what I might see." The truth was that I was broke. If you opened up my wallet all you would see would be moths fluttering out. I would have given him a twenty if I'd had it.

"I won't hand her over until I see some…" and he rubbed his forefinger and thumb together.

"You will be waiting a long time. All my cash is in my car, and my car was lifted while I walked up the stairs to your apartment. Now, I need to take Shauna in for rescheduling."

"That will be hard if you don't have no car."

"That's okay", said Lula. "She has an endless stream of cars she can use. We just have to wait until another one is delivered. It won't take long."

"I just want to get Shauna first before I phone it in." I quickly stepped past Shauna's father and walked into the apartment. Shauna's father came running up to me, grabbing hold of my sleeve and trying to push me towards the entry again. I batted him off. "Shauna", I called. "I'm Stephanie Plum and you missed your court date. I have come to take you into court to reschedule. Shauna?" I walked into the living room, dining room and kitchen combination. The three rooms were laid out as one big room. The stove looked like it was on its last legs. The oven door was half hanging off its hinges, and there were several layers of food encrusted on the stove top. On the kitchen table was a camp stove with a pot of water boiling away. Over top of the water was a pyrex dish of what looked like marijuana plants soaked in a liquid. The plant liquid was boiling. Nearby were a few containers of butane and a pile of marijuana plant stems. The smell of butane was strong.

I walked through to the bedroom. Shauna was lying on the bed, softly giggling away. She was holding her hand up to the light, turning it this way and that, inspecting it and laughing at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the whole world. "Lula", I called out, "I need your help in here." Lula came through at the same time as Shauna's father. "What is she on?" I asked.

"Shauna? She ain't on nothin'."

"She's normally this happy?"

"Yep. She always was a happy girl."

Lula and I each took a side and lifted Shauna to her feet. Shauna laughed. "Up, up and away", she sang out. We cuffed her and led her from the room, out the apartment, down the stairs and out the front door of the building. I looked. My car had not mysteriously returned.

I breathed a great sigh and pulled out my phone. Ramon answered the call. "Hi, Ramon. It's Stephanie. I am on Stark right now with Lula and a skip, and my car seems to have walked away while I wasn't looking."

"You need us to get your car back?"

"Yes, and I need a transfer to the precinct. I have a very happy skip on a very happy trip. I am afraid that this will morph into a very bad trip soon, so anything you can do to get us to the precinct quickly would be greatly appreciated."

"I'll send out the cavalry."

I thanked him and hung up. "I don't get it. When I am soft and nice, people jack my car. When I am hard and forceful, people jack my car. How come Ranger's cars never get jacked? They go into just as rough neighbourhoods. They wear Kevlar. I'm wearing Kevlar. They wear guns. I am wearing a gun. They wear utility belts. I am wearing a utility belt. Why do people respect Rangeman staff but they don't respect me?"

"Have you seen some of the guys working for Rangeman? Even people in the toughest neighbourhoods are scared of them. You've got that niceness vibe happening. People don't believe you are really going to shoot them."

"Pretty", said Shauna laughing. She took a step into the road, chasing whatever she was seeing in her mind. Lula and I yanked her back to safety.

"What do you think she took?" I asked Lula.

"I suspect it was some acid, although it might have been some hash oil. Either of those things can really mess with your brain. We are just lucky she is on a happy trip. This won't go well for us if things change."

A few minutes later, Ranger drove up in his Cayenne. "I was in the area. Ramon said you needed some help?"

"My car was stolen – again. And I have a skip here who desperately needs to go to the precinct."

"Miguel and Manuel are picking up your car as we speak. They will drive it back to Rangeman for you. I will take you to the precinct." He got out a set of shackles and helped Lula and I wrestle Shauna into the car. Finally, Shauna was all tucked into the car, restrained so that she could not hurt either herself or us. Lula walked around the car and got in the back. Ranger pulled me into a hug and gave me a light kiss. "Hi", he said.

"Hi, back", I said with a smile. I gave him a quick kiss, then walked around the car to get in the front passenger side. As I reached the other side of the car, Shauna's father opened up a window and shouted "hey, bitch. You are not taking my daughter away." He pulled out a gun and blasted it at us. I heard the shot, which was almost immediately followed by a loud KA-BOOM! Windows shattered in the blast and glass rained down on us. Bits of brick came flying down from the walls, bouncing and smashing as they hit the pavement. One piece of brick smashed down on my head and I was covered in a myriad of nicks from the broken glass. Lula and Ranger escaped unscathed. I rubbed my head and blinked back tears from my eyes from the blow.

"Are you okay?" asked Lula as Ranger ran around the car to inspect me.

"I am fine. Just annoyed. There is broken brick everywhere, but neither of you nor the car were hit. Just me. Don't get me wrong. I am glad you weren't hit. But I don't understand why, if something is going to happen, ninety-nine percent of the time it happens to me and not to either of you."

"I don't know. I guess it just sucks to be you", said Lula.

"Ka-boom! Hee, hee, hee", said Shauna.

I shook out the glass from down my shirt as Ranger inspected the bump on my head and checked my eyes for evidence of a concussion. Then, momentarily satisfied, he tucked me in the front seat, got in the car himself, and drove away. Fire trucks passed us on the way to the scene. "Just got out of there in time", Ranger said. "They would have boxed us in and we would have been there all afternoon."

As Ranger drove Lula to the bonds office first and dropped her off, I said "that's two skips we brought in today. All in all, a good morning. I want to go home and have a shower. I'll pick you up tomorrow to go find the other one?" Lula agreed and headed into the office.

"How is your head?" Ranger asked as he drove the rest of the way to the precinct.

"Okay. Just sore."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No. I have a bump and I will have a bruise. It's sore to touch, so I'm just not touching it. I'll be okay."

"Ka-boom!" said Shauna from the backseat.

"What do you think caused the explosion?"

"If I had to guess, there was a two-burner camp stove set up in the kitchen which appeared to be making hash oil. The smell of butane was strong. I suspect that the explosion came from making the oil."

"That would make sense. The shot that Shauna's father fired at you would be the trigger for the explosion."

"Ka-boom!" said Shauna from the backseat.

"I should report this to the police when I get in, shouldn't I?" I said, resigned. "I was so hoping to just drop Shauna off and go home to shower."

"No, I'm sorry, but you should report this." Ranger parked in the drop-off area and, with Shauna held up between the two of us, walked with me into the station. I cuffed Shauna to the bench. "Ka-boom!" she said.

I walked up to the docket lieutenant and handed her my paperwork. She blanched looking at me. "Are you okay, Steph? You look a little banged up."

"When I was picking up Shauna her building exploded and I was caught in the crossfire. Since I suspect I know what caused the explosion, I would also like to give a statement. Who should I see for that?"

"I will call someone down if you want to take a seat."

I waited with Ranger for a few minutes. Waiting with Ranger is a peaceful activity. He does not see the need for unnecessary talk, so spending time with him often gives me a chance to get in touch with my Zen.

Morelli came through, his face turning white when he saw me. I recently broke up with Morelli after a long on-again, off-again relationship. This time the "off" phase feels more permanent. He remains, however, a good friend. My father calls him the Italian Stallion. He is six feet of male testosterone, packaged in all the right places, and is a nice guy to boot. However, I don't think he is for me, a fact that I have accepted but Morelli has not. "I'm okay", I said. "I think it must look worse than it really is. I'm not sure, because I have not seen myself."

Morelli glanced down at Ranger and I swear I could see the steam coming out of his ears. Morelli thinks Ranger gets me in trouble. And I can see his point. Ranger does at times get me in trouble. However, because he gets me out of trouble much more frequently, I think the point is moot. "Where were you when all this was happening?" he asked.

"I was getting in the car. Stephanie turned back towards the building when Shauna's father started shooting at her."

"Shooting at her?" His face became more florid in colour. With difficulty, Morelli got control of his temper and in his take-no-prisoners cop's voice, said "what happened?"

"Shauna – who is over there singing to herself – is my skip. She reported to police that the weed she bought was of inferior quality and she wanted the dealer arrested. The police arrested her on a possession charge instead. I was picking her up and, in entering her apartment, I found that her father was apparently making a batch of hash oil. The smell of butane was strong in the apartment. Lula and I cuffed Shauna and took her out of the apartment, waiting in the shadows for a pick up. We needed a ride because my car was stolen again." That got a grunt and a partial smile from Morelli. "Ranger showed up to give us a ride. Just after Lula and Shauna got into the car, Ranger started to get in the car as I walked around it to get in the passenger side. Shauna's father saw me outside and threatened me with a gun to try to get Shauna released. He shot off a bullet at Ranger's car, and that is when the explosion happened."

"He wasn't shooting at Ranger's car, Cupcake. He was shooting at you."

"Luckily for me, then, that he isn't a very good shot." Morelli just shook his head in amazement.

"Do you have anything to add to that?" Morelli asked Ranger.

"No. I arrived late to the party", he said.

"Okay. I will pass your statement on to the investigating officer and will let you get home to shower off all that blood."

"It's really nothing."

Morelli sighed. "No, it's not nothing. But it is your life. You are always the one hit by the flying glass."

I leaned over and gave Morelli a kiss on the cheek. "I really am okay." Then, getting up, I followed Ranger out of the building.

"Ka- BOOM! Hee, hee, hee", said Shauna.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter** **Four**

I asked Ranger to drive me to my apartment. He drove me to his instead. "Your car is there, Babe. It makes more sense." I could not argue with that logic.

Getting up to Ranger's luxurious seventh-floor penthouse apartment, I entered into his peaceful oasis. Ella had been through, and the quiet stillness of his flat smelled of a mix of Ranger's Bulgari Green bath products, the lemon scent of cleanser, and the fresh flowers on the hall table at the front door. It was a pleasing aroma. I walked back to Ranger's bedroom suite. Ranger has the best master suite I could ever imagine, taking up a full half of the apartment. He has a large five-piece bathroom, an enormous walk-in closet, a king-sized bedroom, and a large office/den area. I have stayed in Ranger's apartment enough to know that I have a shelf of my clothes in his closet and a drawer of my toiletries in his bathroom. I also have a shelf with my favourite foods in his kitchen. This is necessary as I don't always like Ranger's healthy food choices. Sometimes a girl just has to have peanut butter and olive sandwiches on worthless white bread.

I walked back to Ranger's closet, dogged two steps behind by Ranger. "I'm okay, Ranger. You don't need to worry about me."

"I know. But I want to inspect all your cuts to see if there is any glass left in them."

I sighed. I had been ready to capture my third skip of the day, not get inspected for cuts. Of course, getting inspected for cuts by Ranger might not be so bad. I brightened up, thinking just where I could direct Ranger to look.

"Oh, no. I know that look. You obviously haven't looked at yourself in the mirror. This will be an actual inspection for glass, not a mutually naked inspection of our bits." He took the hem of my top in his hands and stripped it off me. There were cuts all down the inside of my top. "How on earth did you get cuts here?" he asked.

"The glass fell down my top when the building exploded. I thought I got it all out, but the seatbelt pushed some of the glass shards into my skin when we were driving. I was able to knock the rest of the shards out when we were at the precinct."

He had me hold me arms out at my sides, then inspected me from all angles. "I don't think there is any remaining glass in the cuts", he said. He then gently felt my head and inspected the area hit by the brick. "You have a noticeable lump, and it will be sore for a few days. Do you have a headache?"

"Yes. But I don't want to go to the hospital." Going to the hospital would result in gossip spreading like wildfire through the Burg, the neighbourhood in which I grew up. This, in turn, would result in my mother believing I was on my deathbed. I tried to reserve hospital visits for when I really needed them. "I don't have a concussion, so I don't think there is a need."

* * *

Dressed in my Rangeman uniform pants and one of Ranger's loose t-shirts gathered at the bottom with a hair elastic, I walked out of the closet to join Ranger in his office. "I don't know why I bother outfitting you in a Rangeman uniform, Babe. You seem to always wear my t-shirts instead."

"Your shirts are comfortable, because they are so oversized. Besides, they are reassuring to wear when something has gone wrong." I didn't need to say it, but something went wrong an awful lot. "Do you mind?"

"No, I like it when you are wearing my clothing. It looks good on you. Will you be ready for training this afternoon? I have some time available at four o'clock."

"If I have to", I responded grumpily.

"I noticed that you were fully dressed for the takedown today. That was wise. You never know what to expect when picking up skips and you need to be prepared for anything."

"Yeah, I tried to threaten the carjackers with death if I found them stealing my car, but all that seemed to do was give them a sense of urgency. They were able to steal my car before I had finished climbing to the second floor. Lula says that I wear my niceness on my sleeve and that is why no one pays attention to me when I am being stern and commanding."

"That may be."

"I was especially glad that I was fully dressed when my car was stolen. It would have been a bad thing for my gun to have been in the car."

Ranger looked at me, dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open. "You don't actually leave your gun in the car when you do a takedown, do you?"

"No, what do you think I am, stupid? Jeez. I carry the gun in my purse along with my stun gun. I carry my pepper spray in my pocket, and the Maglite in the car. I let Lula carry her gun, and that is one too many guns out in the open for my liking." I didn't tell him that there might have been a time or two when I have forgotten my purse in the car. I figure what he doesn't know can't hurt him.

"I brought up lunch from the break room while you were in the shower", Ranger said. He got up from his desk and walked with me to the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Ranger has a fantastic kitchen. Dark cherry wood cabinets, black granite counters and stainless steel appliances – everything is top of the line. If I was a cook, I would be salivating over his kitchen. Unfortunately, however, I can barely heat up a frozen lasagne.

On the breakfast bar was an assortment of sandwiches, cut vegetables, cut fruit, and yogurts. Ranger had also brought up a couple of milks. I selected a roast beef and swiss on a Kaiser and put it in the microwave until the cheese turned melty. Then, I took one of the containers of milk and poured it in a glass. Going to my cupboard, I took out a bottle of chocolate syrup and dumped in twice as much as was recommended, stirred it up until the entire glass of milk resembled mud, and took a sip and said "ahh". "Would you like some?" I asked Ranger innocently.

Ranger has a whole theory. Food is there for caloric intake and to provide enough energy and nutrients to help keep your body healthy. He is well able to withstand the draw of the doughnut case. I, on the other hand, believe that food is there to comfort and pleasure you. I cannot withstand the draw of the doughnut case and frequently give in to eating all things unhealthy but good-tasting. It is a system that works for me.

Ranger shuddered. "No, I will leave the chocolate milk up to you, Babe", he said. He took another sip of his very plain milk and had a bite of his baby carrot, without the dressing. And that is what I am talking about. Who eats vegetables without the dip?

"What do you have up for this afternoon?" Ranger asked.

I dunked a red pepper in dip and put it in my mouth. "Whatever files that are on my desk. I also want to research the three new files from Vinnie that I am going to ask Lula to send the particulars on. What about you? Did you want to skip training now that you have lost so much of the day looking after me?"

"No, you will not get out of training that easily. If I have a very productive afternoon I will be able to catch up, and I was planning on doing some work after dinner anyway. Are you staying for dinner?"

"I had been planning on mooching dinner from my parents, but with these cuts I figure I had better wait until they have healed a bit before I see my mother. So yes, if you don't mind, I will mooch dinner here. I don't have any food at my place."

* * *

Miguel popped his head in my office. "Hey, chica, your car is in the underground again. We washed it for you."

"Thank you, but why did you need to wash it?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"You don't want to know."

"I am sure it can't be as bad as what I am currently thinking", I said.

"Let's just say the gang learned a very serious lesson, and at least one member will not be interested in stealing cars in the near future."

"Think of it as us providing a public service", said Manuel as he also poked his head around the corner of my office door. "We are teaching kids not to steal."

"I was wrong. It was as bad as I was actually thinking."

"Yeah, well…" Manuel said as he lifted his hands and shrugged his shoulders in an age-old "what can you do?" sign.

"Were there any fatalities?" I asked.

"No."

"Besides through the tracing of the licence plate, can this incident be linked back to Rangeman or myself in any way?"

"No. What do you take us for? We are professionals."

"Just trying to determine whether I need to get a story straight before I meet with the police", I said with a smile.

* * *

Lula texted me with the names of the new files. In addition to the reproductive saboteur, there was a woman who was arrested for pranking the police department. I remembered when this happened. The woman, Ava Madison, put talcum powder in a letter and mailed it to a particular police officer, an officer who had arrested her cousin for dealing drugs. Then, she phoned the department and reported "knowledge" of an impending terrorist attack. It was a big deal at the time. She might have gotten away with it if she had not put her return address on the envelope. I searched the files for information on Ava, coming up with her street address, her work history, her cell numbers for the last five years, her height and weight and kindergarten grades. The search engines that Rangeman uses are remarkably invasive. They can find things about yourself that even you don't know.

After creating a dossier on Ava, I turned to the reproductive saboteur, the STI donator, Samuel Heskell. It did not take me long to identify his lack of job and other income. Looking at his school marks, it appeared that his school career was less than stellar. That is saying something coming from me. I was the person who went to college and graduated in the top ninety-eight percentile of my class.

He lived in his girlfriend's apartment on Stark. The not-so-bad end of Stark, thankfully. I prayed my car wouldn't get stolen again.

The last file was for a husband and wife team. They had been caught on human trafficking charges. They had been importing girls from South America to the New Jersey area to work as cleaners. Some of these girls had signed up to be transported to the USA, thinking that they were signing up for a better life. Others were kidnapped off the streets of South America. The girls, knowing little English and believing they had a huge debt to pay back to the importers, worked for almost peanuts trying to save enough money to bring more of their family over into the States. The system was set up so that the importers would never get paid back, and the cleaners would always be considered illegal residents, forced to work for next to nothing for the rest of their lives. The women were basically slaves, helpless, robbed of their dignity and dropped into a life of forced servitude. I would be happy and proud to bring the traffickers back into the system.

Finishing researching the files for Vinnie, I turned to the Rangeman files. At four o'clock, Ranger knocked on my door with a box of bullets in his hand. "Come on", he said. "let's shoot some targets."

I followed him down the steps to the basement. Walking down the hall, I heard someone in one of the holding cells loudly cussing up a storm. "That is a skip waiting transportation to Georgia", said Ranger. "Someone is coming to pick him up."

"I don't think I have ever heard that many swear words attached together in a single sentence before, and I have met some pretty vulgar people during my stint as a bounty hunter."

"He is rather eloquent, isn't he?" said Ranger. He held the door open to the observation area of the range for me.

Putting on protective gear, we walked into the shooting area of the range. Ranger set up the target for me, going straight for the body targets. I gave him a dirty look.

"Instead of shooting at the chest, this time I want you to aim for the head", said Ranger.

I swallowed hard. "Can't I just aim for the leg? That would slow down the skip."

"There aren't any legs on the targets and, besides, that wouldn't stop the skip from shooting you. The head is a hard target to shoot for. It is small and keeps on moving. If you can hit the head squarely, you can hit the chest squarely as well. And if you are so much in danger that you need to shoot someone, you will continue to be in danger until you incapacitate them. The best way to do that is with a kill shot."

"Just for the record, I hate this."

"Just for the record, I know", he shot back. "You don't have to like it, but you do have to know how to do it."

I took out my gun and lined up the sights. I aimed at the head, hitting the forehead and face with some shots. The rest of my shots went into the shoulders and chest, or out into space.

Ranger cued up a clean target while I refilled my clip. "Again", he said.

I aimed for the target again and shot in another clip. Once again, only some of the bullets went where I was aiming. Ranger cued up a clean target while I refilled my clip, then gave me some reminders on how to aim more accurately. By the end of my third clip I was starting to improve. By the end of my fourth I was hitting a significantly higher percentage of head shots. By the end of the fifth I was hitting most of my shots in the body somewhere.

"For this last clip, aim for kill shots on the chest." He cued up a fresh target. With having a wider area to shoot, I was able to get all my shots in the chest area. I was pleased. As much as I hated shooting guns, it was nice to see the improvement in my accuracy.

"With focusing on a smaller target like the head shot, you will get better at shooting at larger areas like the chest", said Ranger. He handed me the used targets. "Do you want all of them, or just the first one you shot?"

"I'm confused. Why do I want any of them?" I asked.

"It is a good idea to keep your first one so that, in a couple of weeks when you have improved, you can look back on this target and see the difference. When you are learning it is a good idea to keep one a month, or even one every couple of weeks. It gives you added incentive to keep on practicing when you see the practice is making a difference."

We put away our safety gear and walked down the hall towards the elevators. "The skip is quiet."

"Yeah, when you are in the holding cells, practicing in the range sounds like bombs going off. I imagine we scared the skip into silence."

We headed up to the gym. There was a sign on the door saying that the gym would be closed for an hour. I looked at Ranger and raised my eyebrows. "I am tired of the guys staring at you when you are working out. After Adam and his harassment of you, I am particularly attuned to the attention." Adam was a guy from Sales who decided that we loved each other and, no matter what I said, he persisted in his belief. Ranger fired him when he found out about the harassment. The harassment continued after he was fired and he was eventually charged and had a restraining order placed against him.

"I feel bad though. The guys shouldn't have to miss their workouts just because I am coming into the gym."

"They aren't missing them. The gym is open twenty-four hours a day. You are in here for only one hour. This means that the guys have the remaining twenty-three hours to work out. If they have a problem with that, there is a gym over on Hamilton they can go to."

I kept on Ranger's shirt today. I was wearing a padded push-up t-shirt bra. After my shower I had not changed into my sports bra as I felt the tight fabric would irritate the cuts.

We spent the first fifteen minutes of the workout stretching. Then Ranger led me through a variety of moves in slow motion. "In another few days we will be back to doing regular workouts, but in the meantime this will get your body used to the movements again." We finished with another fifteen minutes of stretching. By the time we left there were three guys waiting outside to use the gym.

"I really don't have a problem with working out when the guys are there. The team is respectful. I only had a problem with Adam because he did not respect my wishes when I told him that I did not want to go out with him. Even Sven is respectful."

"Sven? From Sales? Were you having a problem with him?"

"Not really. He asked me out, I said no, he begged, Tank overheard, Tank told him off and threatened to fire him, and that was the last I heard from Sven." Tank is second in command at Rangeman and is the Head of Operations. Built like a tank, he has had Ranger's back since Rangeman started up as a company.

"So I don't need to get involved?"

"No, there is no more problem. Tank took care of it. I don't mind people looking as long as it is respectful. I don't even mind people asking me out, again as long as they respect my wishes when I say 'no'. Adam was only a problem because he kept trying to foist himself on me and it didn't matter what I said, he just kept coming at me." I shuddered. "If you want me to be part of the team, to be treated like one of the guys, you need to treat me like one of the guys. This means working out together just as much as eating together."

"I hear what you are saying, but I will never treat you like one of the guys. For now I will keep the gym closed and the security feed scrambled." Ranger opened the door to his apartment. "What skips are you chasing for Vinnie?" he asked. Apparently the conversation about shutting down the gym was closed.

"I have four outstanding files. One is a person who wanted his girlfriend to get pregnant so he tampered with the condom by putting holes in it. Instead of giving her a baby, however, he gave her an STI. He is being charged with sexual assault. I'm not happy to be chasing that one. He lives on Stark Street. It doesn't matter what I do, I always seem to get in trouble when I am on Stark Street."

Ranger smiled.

"The second felon is someone who was mad about her cousin being arrested for drug trafficking, and so she mailed a letter full of talcum powder to the investigating police officer, and called the officer with the information that the envelope was coming, that it contained ricin, and that it was the beginning of a terrorist attack. The police department was on high alert for days before they received the envelope and had the chance to analyze the powder. It sounds like the kind of crime that is so well thought out, that the person performing the prank was incredibly smart. And then you find out the person pulling the prank was especially stupid, as she put her return address on the package carrying the powder. She's being held on a high bond, so she will be an important one to capture.

"The last two files are a husband and wife team. They sicken me. They are human traffickers who are bringing girls from South America into the country illegally to use as cleaners. Some of these girls signed up with the traffickers, thinking they are coming to a better life. Others have been kidnapped off the streets in their home villages. They are preying on the girls' desperation and paying them little, if anything, to do the work, telling them that the money they earn goes to cover their room and board. They are stealing more than their money. They are stealing the girls' lives. I will be happy to get that couple. I always hate to hear of stories where people are taken advantage of."

"Good luck on them. If you need any help, let me know." Ranger picked up the phone and called down to Ella that we were ready for dinner.

"I have you on speed dial. If my capture on Stark goes anything like my last few on Stark have, I will need it. It was nice of Miguel and Manuel to retrieve my car today. Apparently they had to capture my car by performing a little hit and run. I got a clean car out of the deal."

"Any fatalities?"

"They said there weren't any." I took our dinner from Ella at the front door and brought the tray to the table. I put the casserole dish of fluffy white rice, and the sizzling dish of stir-fry on the table. Ranger brought over dishes and cutlery, while I poured cold water from the fridge dispenser for each of us. I brought the glasses over while Ranger put out napkins. "And when I asked them whether the hit and run could be traced to Rangeman, they said they were more professional than that. I think they were a little insulted I had asked."

Ranger laughed. "I imagine they were. They are trained to get the job done with as little notice given by others as possible. It's like if you are on a mission. You need to get the job done without people knowing that you are even there, let alone that you are completing a job. Often your life depends upon your ability to blend in and remain in the shadows."

"I never think of the Rangeman staff as having those high level of skills. The guys do, but I am used to thinking of everybody as just a bunch of good guys, guy-next-door kind of guys."

"That may be true, but at least half of the staff have military backgrounds, many of whom were SEALS or in the Special Forces. The other half are split between those who were hired for their potential to be good security personnel, with the rest hired for their more illegal skills. I have some of the best lock breakers, computer hackers, and cat-burglars in the business on payroll."

"And then there's me."

"Yes, and then there's you. You were hired because you are good at research. Your luck and stubbornness are benefits. You have good instincts and you listen to them when you suspect something is wrong, and then you spend the time and energy trying to prove or disprove what your gut is telling you. I can teach people how to use the search engines. That part is easy. I can't teach people how to identify whether there is something hinky in someone's profile. I can't teach people how to work on a file until the middle of the night just because something seemed off. And I can't teach people how to hang onto their convictions like a dog with a bone, and then try to prove themselves right or wrong. But that is what you do, regularly and consistently. I give you flex hours and part-time hours because I know skip chasing is important to you, and also because I know your work ethic will make sure the work will all get done, even if that means you have to work a lot of overtime to do so. Don't think I haven't noticed that you have been pulling forty to fifty hour work weeks here in addition to your skip chasing. You are incredibly good at what you do, and that is why you are part of the Rangeman team."

"You actually see stubbornness and all those traits as being good? Those are usually the same qualities that people list as some of my more negative attributes."

"Then they are fools. On the research desk, those characteristics are essential to doing a good job. Now that you have done the job for a while, what do you think of doing research?"

"It's kind of boring, but I like it when I find a particularly difficult piece of information that I know most people would have missed. And I like being able to analyze the information and point out things that I think are a little off. The new office is nice. I am able to close my door and play music at the same time as I do the work, which means that I am falling asleep a lot less. Of course, being located closer to the coffee maker may also have something to do with that. I like having the regular income as well. It has been a long time since I had an income I could rely on and it is nice getting ahead of the bills for a change, rather than playing Russian roulette with them at the end of the month."

"How are you finding it fatigue-wise? Between your two jobs you are working a lot of hours."

"So far, so good. I think it helps that I am not chained to a desk and can move around throughout the day. I am eating all my meals here, which means that I am not worrying about grocery shopping or making meals for myself quite the same, so there is some time saved there. It also helps that I have basically been living here since I started the job at Rangeman. Everything has been done for me. It is more than just meals and grocery shopping. Ella has also been doing all my laundry and cleaning. I may find it more challenging now I have moved back home again."

"If you ever get too tired to drive home, my bed is always open. Even if I am not here, my bed is open to you."

"Thanks." I put the last mouthful of chicken and cashews in my mouth and sighed with pleasure. "Ella can sure cook. Even if I learned to cook, I could never cook as well as Ella can."

"That is just because you haven't had to. Cooking is easy and fun. It is letting your creative side out without having to be artistic. It just takes a bit of time, especially when you are learning."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"My parents owned a restaurant, remember?" he said with a smile. "I learned to cook when I was quite young. It is not something I have time to do anymore, but it is a lot like riding a bike. I still know how. Your mother is a good cook. How did you not learn?"

"I was not interested in learning how. My sister wanted to learn how to cook and was quite good at it. I didn't wish to compete and, besides, I was terrible at it. Pretty soon I learned that the more I muffed up, the greater the chance I would be released from kitchen duty. I started to become incredibly inept in the kitchen. It wasn't long before my family teased me for my lack of ability, but would avoid asking me to help out. I didn't mind the teasing because I knew it was self-induced. And I was happy watching whatever sports game was on the TV with my dad. Now, however, my sister can turn out a perfect three-course dinner and I live on people's doggie bags. I guess it does pay to work hard."

"Knowing how to cook is not the be-all and end-all. You do other things well. Everybody has their strengths. Ella could not work the research desk." He finished his last bite of dinner, then pushed his plate aside. "There is a ball game on tonight. Do you want to stay?"

And here is the thing. I really wanted to stay. But I thought, for my own comfort level, I had better go home. Time spent with Ranger lately was feeling domesticated, normal. The problem is that there were no promises made between us. We are doing things backwards. Since I had basically been living with Ranger for the past two months, we had already done the comfortable, lived-in part of the relationship without doing the beginning. It's true that we had been friends for years, but Ranger has a lot of secrets and I am not sure if I can say that I truly know him. Sure, I know the important things – his integrity, his sense of honour, his generosity, his determination, his intelligence, his strength. That is the Christmas tree. But what I don't know are all the decorations. His family, his friends, his hopes, his dreams, they are all missing. I know him enough to know I could trust him with my life. I don't know him enough to be able to tell his story. Until I know Ranger's story I am leery of commitment with him. I don't know if he even wants commitment. I don't know what he thinks of me. There is so much I don't know.

"Thank you, but I think I had better go home. Rex is waiting for his dinner." I stood up and put the leftover food in the refrigerator. "Besides, you have to catch up on the work you weren't able to get done today when you came to help me."

Ranger looked steadily at me, then captured the excess fabric of my shirt in his hands and pulled me over to him. He gave me a deep kiss that had me forgetting about Rex's need to eat. Then, slowly breaking away from me, he said "keep my number on speed dial. If you need anything, I can be there in under ten minutes."

"Thank you. I'll remember that."

"Will you be in the office tomorrow?"

"I have those four skips to capture, so it will depend upon how the captures go. I anticipate that I will be in at some point, although I am not sure when. It may just be in the evening hours."

"I am around the office tomorrow. Come see me when you get in and we will see if we can squeeze in another training session."

"Fun, wow. You really know how to show a girl a good time", I said with a flirty smile.

"I don't know. Getting all hot and sweaty with you at any time is classed as a good time in my books."

I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't even sure if we were still flirting, or whether we were talking seriously. I stretched up and gave Ranger another kiss, then picked up my bag and left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The apartment was nice and quiet when I got there. The loneliness and emptiness punched me in the gut as I walked in the front door. There was no smell of Ranger's shower gel hanging in the air, and there was no Ranger sitting on the couch waiting for me to cuddle in. I dropped my bag on the kitchen counter and wrapped my arms around myself. "Rex, I hope you are enjoying being home again, because I am not. I miss Ranger. Even though I just got here, I still miss him and I don't know if he is mine to miss." I changed the water in Rex's water bottle and poured some hamster crunchies in his bowl. Then, I put my gun in my cookie jar for safekeeping, plugged in my stun gun to recharge, and went into my bedroom to unpack and get ready for bed. It did not take me long to unpack. I put on a shirt of Ranger's that I had snuck out of his apartment, and a pair of underwear that were designed more for comfort than good looks. Cozy and tucked in for the night, I went through the pile of mail that I had brought up earlier in the day, separated out the bills from the junk mail, and went online and paid them. I was pleased to see I had money left in my account when I was finished. I moved some of that money into my savings account. That brought my savings comfortably out of the single digits.

Feeling much better about things, I decided to clean out my fridge. Having not been in my apartment for the past month, I was leery of any food that had been left in the refrigerator. Cleaning out the fridge is one of my least favourite chores and I was not looking forward to it. Taking a deep breath, I decided it would be a good idea to get it over with. I opened up the refrigerator door. The inside of the fridge was shiny clean, and filled with an assortment of fresh foods – milk, cream, orange juice, blueberries, bread, butter, coffee, peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, baby carrots, ranch dressing, apples, olives, and cheese. Attached to the carton of milk was a note: "Babe". I took out the chocolate hazelnut spread and got a spoon, noticing a bunch of bananas and a small bag of raisins on the counter above the cutlery drawer. I looked in the freezer. There was a tray of frozen lasagne and a couple of pineapple chicken TV dinners. Dipping the spoon in the jar of chocolate spread, I scooped up an enormous dollop of chocolate, put the lid back on the jar and put the jar back in the fridge. I licked my chocolate until the spoon was squeaky clean, got a tumbler out of the cupboard and poured myself a glass of milk. Grabbing the phone and taking my glass over to the couch, I phoned Ranger.

"The food fairy came!" I said when he answered the phone.

"You found out already? I didn't think you would figure it out until tomorrow morning when you went to have coffee."

"I wanted to clean out the fridge so that I could go shopping tomorrow. You did both the cleaning and the shopping. Thank you."

"I am worried enough about you. I do not need to worry about you eating, too."

"There is no need to worry about me, you know."

"My head says you are all right. My heart is still recovering from your last kidnapping. I haven't settled yet."

"My apartment is safer than it has ever been. It is monitored, and I can't have anyone either getting into or out of my place without it being caught on camera. I have learned a lot in self-defence and I can somewhat shoot a gun now. Plus, I have my watch on all the time. You have made me much safer than I have ever been. There is no need for you to worry."

"Keep your phone beside your bed. If you need me at all, just call."

I promised him I would and said good night. Then, because I had nothing better to do, I went to bed.

I did not sleep well. I tossed and turned, and I would wake up stretching across the bed, looking for Ranger in my sleep. Finally, at five thirty I decided that it was late enough to get up. Listening to the morning noises of the apartment building waking up, the water running, the pipes knocking, the sounds of newspapers being delivered to the doorways of my neighbours, I made a pot of coffee. While the coffee was brewing I brushed my teeth, jumped in the shower and started to laugh. On my shower caddy was a bottle of Ranger's Bulgari Green body wash. My heart feeling happier, I had a long hot shower, soaping up generously with Ranger's body wash. I dried off and, wrapping a towel around my body sarong style, I blasted my hair with the hair dryer. When it was dry, I put it up in a ponytail. I applied makeup – concealer to cover up my sleepless night, BB cream, eyeliner, two coats of mascara, and raspberry lip gloss. I put on a stretchy pale blue t-shirt and a black microfiber tennis skirt. My weather app showed it was supposed to be a hot day. I put on my black running shoes, the ones where the laces are offset and the shoe is designed for style as well as for running. With the four skips I had outstanding, something told me I would need to have some run in my feet.

I poured myself a cup of coffee, adding cream, mentally thanking Ranger again for coming to my rescue. I took out the loaf of bread and put two slices in the toaster. I put the rest of the bread back in the fridge, got out the chocolate hazelnut spread, and peeled a banana. I was ready to put my breakfast together.

I sipped my coffee as I waited for the toast to pop. Then, spreading the chocolate spread over the toast, I plopped half a banana on each of the two slices. Wrapping the chocolate bread around the banana, I ate the choco-banana dog, closing my eyes in bliss. I got some on my nose and around my mouth, but it was worth it. They were the closest thing to unhealthy that I had eaten in a few days, and my taste buds were thanking me.

Comfortably full on breakfast, I finished my coffee and poured myself another. I sat down to review the files again, wondering what Ranger was doing at that moment. I finished my coffee and looked at my watch. I had another three hours to go before I was scheduled to meet with Lula to go skip chasing. I reviewed my options. I could either rent a movie through the on-demand feature on the television and watch it, I could pop in a DVD and watch it, I could sit and have another coffee and watch the seniors' parking wars – which aren't very interesting at this time of the morning since all self-respecting seniors were happily drinking coffee and watching the morning news, or I could go to work at Rangeman. Even before I had finished the thought I found myself throwing out the remainder of my coffee, wiping off all sticky chocolaty traces of my breakfast, and brushing my teeth and using mouthwash. I put on my belt holster, took my Glock out of the cookie jar, picked up my charged stun gun and put it in my purse, gathered up my files and put those in my purse as well, and left the apartment.

I drove to Rangeman and keyed into the company's secure underground parking lot. The parking garage holds four parking spots reserved for Ranger. He has three cars – a Porsche Turbo 911, a Porsche Cayenne, and a Toyota Tacoma truck. Like the Rangeman fleet cars, all Ranger's cars are new, black, and in pristine condition.

I parked in Ranger's fourth spot. My car is also black but due to its age it sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't know if Ranger minds me parking in one of his spots. I have never asked. The spot is situated in a prime location, nice and close to the elevators, and I haven't wanted to take the chance that he would refuse my using it.

I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, walking past Ranger's office on the way to my own. His office was open but nobody was there. I unlocked the door to my office and entered. On my desk was a single red rose in a bud vase. My heart melted. Ever since I had woken up I had felt unsettled. The rose helped to smooth some of that disquiet away.

I put away my purse and walked down to the break room, meeting Ranger as he poured himself a coffee. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you weren't coming in until after hours this evening."

"I couldn't sleep and it isn't time to meet up with Lula for another couple of hours. It was either order a movie or come in here, and I figured I had those files to do for Sales so I might as well come in."

"Grab a coffee and come down to my office for a minute." Ranger waited for me to pour myself a coffee, then followed me down to his office. I went to sit down at his conference table while Ranger shut the door. "I missed you last night and this morning", he said. "I didn't sleep well either."

"After sleeping together so much over the past two months," I said, "I kept looking for you in my sleep. At one point I woke up lying horizontally across the bed. And that was after swiping one of your shirts from your closet to wear to bed. I finally gave up on sleeping around five thirty this morning."

"The apartment seemed empty without you there this morning. I came down here for breakfast." He pulled me up into his arms and gave me a kiss that involved a lot of tongue. When he sucked gently on my top lip my stomach muscles contracted and…oh boy. After a moment or two I realized my knee was inserted between Ranger's two legs, my hand was rubbing up and down his crotch, and the whimpering noises were coming from me. "The day isn't supposed to start for another two hours. Let's go upstairs", suggested Ranger, breathing just as hard as me.

"Uh-huh", I said, dazed.

"I still owe you a slow and sensual."

"Uh-huh." I didn't know if I could handle any more at all, let alone a slow and sensual. But having had a lifetime of pushing the boundaries, I thought that it would be a shame to stop now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

At nine o'clock Ranger kissed me awake with a cup of coffee. "Lula will be at the office soon, and she will be wondering where you are."

"Once I tell her I was with you, she will be thankful. She says she doesn't like going out with me to capture skips when I haven't had any sex the night before because I am too cranky. There will be no chance of me being grouchy today." Ranger smiled. "I don't want to move." I sighed and sat up anyway, reaching for the coffee that Ranger had brought to me. "I forgot to thank you for both the shower gel this morning and the rose in my office."

"You're welcome."

"You are a romantic at heart."

"Shh. Don't tell anyone. It's the Latino blood coming out in me."

I leaned forward and gave Ranger a kiss that had both of us hurriedly assessing whether we could rearrange our days to allow us to stay in bed for another hour. I gave up when I remembered Lula would soon be waiting for me in the office.

"I think we should go out on another date soon", said Ranger. "I picked where we went last time. Why don't you choose this time and let me know the where and when?"

"Let me think about that. Maybe plan on tonight? Is that too soon? The last time we went fancy, so perhaps this time we should go casual and laid back?"

"Whatever you want. Tonight would be perfect. Just let me know."

I wiggled my way onto Ranger's lap, and gave him another kiss. "Oh, no, you don't", said Ranger. "My day is flexible. Yours, however, is not. Get up and get dressed, Babe. It's time to get the day started."

I drank my coffee and got up, finishing up in the bathroom. I put my clothes back on while Ranger got dressed again. Then, remarkably more relaxed than I had been that morning coming into Rangeman, Ranger and I walked together out of the apartment.

* * *

I hurried down to the bonds office, unfortunately hitting every red light on the way. I was ten minutes late. Connie was at Costco buying more office supplies and Lula was playing a game of Mah-jong when I got in. It was a game I had never figured out the rules to. It was like backgammon. I never figured out the rules to that one either. I figured I had plenty of time when I was old to learn.

I pulled out the three files for the four skips. "Which should we do first?" I asked. "The reproductive saboteur or the terrorist hoaxer or the human traffickers?"

"I don't know. They all seem like they need a good slap on the head and a kick in the ass for what they did. Can you go in fully suited up again? With your gun and my gun, we should be able to scare the crap out of them. And scare them is what I want to do."

"I hope we won't need guns, but I agree we should go in fully suited up. Are there any Kevlar vests in the storeroom? It would be nice for you to wear a bulletproof vest when we go. It looks more official that way."

"Damn skippy! That's a good idea. Right now only you are wearing protection. Of course, ninety-nine percent of the time you are the only one who needs protection." I could hear her voice coming from the bowels of the storeroom as she searched for a vest. "But it's that other one percent that worries me. Even a one percent chance of getting dead can still result in one becoming very dead."

"Hopefully they will come with us as easily as the duellist yesterday."

"Yeah, he was a real sweetie pie. If he was a little older I would have been interested in him", she said, triumphantly holding a vest aloft as she emerged from the closet. "But he would have had to be older. I am not interested in no cradle robbing."

"You could be younger."

"I'm not interested in being younger. I have lived through a bunch of shit and have come out the other side. I wouldn't want to live through it again." She put the bulletproof vest on and I loosened off the straps to size it to her full figure. There was still a little too much Lula squishing out the sides once I had loosened it to the maximum, but it would do in a pinch. It was better than getting shot.

"How about we get the one on Stark Street over with", I suggested. "That's the one I am really dreading." We left the office, locking up after ourselves, and walked out to the car. I also put on my Kevlar and, since my utility belt had a holster for my gun on it, I took off my gun belt and put on my utility belt. Handing Lula the file on Heskell, we motored off to Stark.

* * *

"I am feeling a bit of déjà vu", I said to Lula, looking at a group of teenaged males as they crossed over to our side of the street and continued walking in our direction. Three of the boys goggled Lula, two looked at me, and four eyed my car. "Don't even think about it", I said to the boys. The two oogling me came towards me, backing me up against the wall. I pulled out my gun, took aim at the pavement right beside one of the boys' feet, and fired a shot. The bullet hit the ground, shattering the concrete of the sidewalk, making the concrete jump up and hit the leg of the boy. Trying not to shake, I put my gun away.

The three boys crowding Lula and the two boys crowding me sprung back, the one that was hit by the concrete holding his leg and shouting "I've been fucking shot by this crazy dumb-ass fucking bitch."

"And don't even think about jacking my car, or the next shot won't be aimed at the ground beside your feet. It will be aimed at you", I called out as I quickly turned away and walked towards the apartment building that Heskell lived in.

"Do you think they will heed the warning this time?" I asked Lula. We looked back, and all nine of the boys were assessing my car.

"Do you have Ranger on speed dial?" she asked.

"Always."

"That's good. 'Cause I think you are going to need it."

There was no elevator in the building. We climbed stairs that smelled strongly of marijuana. "I couldn't live here", said Lula, "I would have the munchies all the time. I would get fat." I eyed her sumo wrestler physique and privately thought that she had already had a bad case of the munchies.

"I already eat everything in sight. I don't need the appetite enhancing properties of pot", I said.

"Yeah, you are the worst stress eater I ever did see."

"I have only just begun to be able to button my jeans again." After the last person I shot a couple of months ago – an event which precipitated the break up with Morelli – I ate just about everything in sight. It has only been through careful eating over the past month that I have been able to reduce my weight again. It was fun going on, but has been a real bitch coming off. I hadn't had a doughnut in over a month. This was a real hardship for me. Doughnuts are one of my main food groups.

We got to the second floor and I looked out the stairwell window. No car. I shook my head. "Apparently they weren't scared by my tough girl act again. I am getting really tired of not being taken seriously. Maybe next time I should actually shoot someone."

"You can't actually shoot someone. You will eat everything in sight and gain weight again, and your grandmother will be back to telling everyone you are preggers."

Heaven forbid. I am still meeting people in the grocery store who are hinting around, asking me if the baby is Morelli's. And when I tell them I am not pregnant, they treat me with kidskin gloves and express their condolences on my miscarriage.

We walked down the dark hallway, an area of flickering fluorescent lights where stale cooking smells warred with the sweet smell of pot. I knocked on Heskell's door. It was silent inside. I knocked again. Finally, after a few minutes, there was a shuffling to the front door. There was no peephole on the door for Heskell to look out. He opened the door to reveal a tall, scrawny guy in a stained wife beater and ripped shorts mostly hanging off his ass, emitting an unwashed smell that overcame the hallway odour. "Heskell?" I asked. I pulled out my cuffs. "Bond enforcement." I grabbed his wrist from between the door and the jamb and snapped on the restraints.

He yanked his wrist away from me. I came with the yank, crashing into the door with enough force to pop it open the rest of the way. The door banged into Heskell, knocking him onto the floor, and I came flying in with the door, still holding onto my cuffs, falling down and landing on top of Heskell.

Shaking his head like he heard a buzzing in his ears, he tried to flip me off him. All those self-defence lessons with Ranger paid off, however. Despite the wild bucking Heskell was doing, he was not able to dislodge me.

Meanwhile, I was trying to get Heskell's other wrist and secure it in the cuffs. Lula had pulled out her gun and was trying to sight Heskell, and Heskell decided that he liked playing the horizontal rumba with me on top. He started to move so that my body was sliding up and down his bits. I could feel his growing interest through my skirt. He started grunting and saying "oh, baby. You like the Heskell? I can give you a good time."

I was angry. I was repulsed by Heskell himself, his smell had my stomach turning, and I really did not want to have to come back to Stark Street in the near future. Using my anger, I flipped Heskell onto his stomach and captured his other wrist. "I said, bond enforcement", I said to Heskell. Turning to Lula I said "I will close up the apartment. If he moves even the slightest before I get back, shoot him."

"You were so good, baby. I came in my shorts for you", said Heskell. I rolled him back onto his back and looked down. Sure enough, there was a large wet spot on his shorts. I hurriedly checked my skirt. Thank God, no wet spots.

I walked through the apartment and turned off all the lights and made sure the stove was not turned on. I closed and locked all the windows, then returned to Lula. "Did he move?" I asked.

"No."

"Too bad. I would have liked to shoot him." Lula put her gun away and between the two of us we hauled Heskell to his feet. Taking the keys to the apartment, we locked the door and marched Heskell down the hallway, down the stairs, and out to the front of the building. Once again, the car had not mysteriously reappeared.

"I am a bad boy. I can be your real bad boy", said Heskell to me. He tried to step closer to me.

"I am in a nasty mood and would like a chance to hurt you. I would recommend that you stay where you are and not push your luck." I pulled out my phone and phoned Rangeman.

"Hi, Hal. I am down on Stark and my car has been stolen – again. The good news is that I got my skip."

"Is that him, yelling 'hey, baby, I'll love you long time' in the background?"

"That's the one."

"I will send a patrol car over to pick up your car, and someone else to rescue you and take your skip to the station."

"Thanks, Hal. You are a lifesaver." I relayed the message on to Lula that help was on the way.

Heskell continued to make kissy noises, trying to sidle up to me, loudly proclaiming the good time that I could have with him. He told all the passersby that I was taking him to a private area for some fun. "That is ridiculous", I said. "If in your warped mind you think I am here to pleasure you, why do you think Lula is here?" I asked, pointing at Lula.

"That fat chick? Perhaps she is there to scare all the rest of the homies away."

"Fat chick?" said Lula. "Fat chick? I will fat chick your ass", she said as she pulled my stun gun out of my utility belt, fired it up, and zapped him. Heskell fell to the ground as Lula handed back my stun gun. Drool oozed from his mouth and he was inert. "Hunh. Too bad he didn't mess his pants", said Lula.

"He messed them when he was wrestling me on the floor. There is probably only so much mess a pair of tighty whiteys can handle."

"True."

* * *

"Have you been to that barbeque place out near the Barrens?"

"Not since they changed management. Why?"

"Ranger and I are going to try another date tonight, and I thought going casual would be a change from our last date. It is my choice as to where we go and I am trying to figure out a good spot."

"BBQ would be good. So would a trip to Point Pleasant. It is so nice out, it would be good to sit outside on a patio drinking beer and eating chicken wings as well. What about that new pub on Main Street? I haven't been in it so I can't speak to the quality of the food, but I do know they have a nice patio."

"That's a good idea."

Ranger drove up in his Cayenne. He got out with a set of shackles in his hand and looked at our skip, who was still passed out. "What happened here?"

"Fell down the stairs", I answered as Ranger smiled. "Thanks for coming to the rescue, again."

"No problem." He looked down at the skip again and said "you got the full effects of the stun that time, Babe. You even got him to pee himself." He put the shackles on Heskell.

"That's not pee. That is the result of me wrestling with him to get the cuffs on him. He got a little excited and apparently he is a bit of a premature ejaculator."

Ranger froze. "Step me through what happened."

"Heskell opened the door, I snapped on one half of the cuffs, Heskell pulled me into his apartment and on top of him as he fell to the ground. I was trying to get my cuffs on him. Lula was trying to sight her gun on Heskell, and Heskell got excited from bouncing around with me on top of him. He came, I got my cuffs on him and checked my skirt but it was dry, thank God, and Lula put away her gun. We brought him down here and he was being obnoxious…"

"He called me a fat chick!" interjected Lula.

"…so Lula stunned him a few minutes before you showed up. A good capture, really. If it weren't for my stolen car and the premature ejaculation, it would have been a perfect capture."

Heskell's eyes slowly opened and it did not look like there was anybody at home. Although to be truthful, I wasn't sure if there was anybody at home in the first place. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Ranger toed him with his shoe. Heskell drooled on the ground. "What happened?" he slurred out.

"You fell", I said. I sat him up as he tried to get a look down my skirt. Apparently parts of him were waking up faster than others.

"I don't remember falling", he said.

"You must have hit your head", I said as Ranger and I reached down and pulled Heskell to his feet. He tried to lurch onto me, but Ranger pulled him out of my grasp and, half carrying him, half dragging him, escorted him over to the car.

* * *

We had dropped Lula off at the bonds office and were at the precinct removing Heskell from the car. He again lurched into me and I jumped back, but not before he had ground his bits into my skirt. "Can I stun him again?" I asked Ranger. "I think I will need a shower after we drop him off."

Ranger smiled, jerked Heskell until he was standing straight, and said in his ear "this is what is going to happen. We are going into the police station so that you can get a new court date. You will not try to touch Stephanie again, nor will you make any lewd comments to her. What you will do is walk nice and steady. If you do not do as I say, I will hit you so hard you'll wish you were dead. Do I make myself clear?"

Heskell nodded his head. So did I.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"Hal called me while you were picking up your paperwork and said your car is on its way back to Rangeman. Ramon and Calvin found it. Cal stole it back. Apparently he had to pull his gun, but when he did the carjackers were quite happy to let Cal have it."

"The patrol staff must be getting tired of continually needing to pick up my car."

"I wouldn't worry about it. They think of it as a game. When your car gets stolen they line up trying to pick it up for you. The monitoring staff have been told to spread the jobs around so that everybody gets a chance to steal your car back. They actually keep a log on the station to try to ensure that no one person gets too many chances to carjack your car. It adds some excitement into what essentially is a very boring job."

"I don't know whether to think of that as being bad or good."

"It's good. Now, are you seriously wanting a shower?"

"He stunk to high heavens, he touched me extensively, and he came all over my skirt. Damn skippy I want a shower."

"Are you showering at my place or yours?"

"I want to shower at mine. All my clothes at your place are uniform black and I want to wear some colour this evening."

"Have you decided where you would like to go?"

"There is that new pub that opened up on Main Street, the one with the outdoor patio. I was thinking we could go there. I haven't tried it, and I don't know anybody who has, so I don't know if it would be good or not. I just picked it for the patio. Now that it's summer, it is definitely patio weather."

Ranger drove into my parking lot. "You are coming up? I thought you would have to get back to work."

"My day is flexible and I thought you might need a hand in getting clean."

Oh, boy. "Partner showering is always good", I said.

* * *

Following a shower where Ranger made sure that every inch of me was squeaky clean, I blasted my hair with the dryer, put it up in a ponytail, reapplied my makeup, and dressed in a stretchy sky blue tank top minidress. I paired it with a thin white long sleeved sweater from a sweater set and strappy silver heels. I was ready in under fifteen minutes.

After complimenting me on my appearance, Ranger said "are you going after your other skips today?"

"No. I can't run in this outfit and a gun belt looks stupid on it. I was planning on coming into the office, as long as it is all right to not wear black and not wear my gun. If not, I will pick up my car and go visit my mother."

"I don't mind you being out of uniform as long as you are in uniform when you are representing the company offsite. Just keep a couple of uniforms in my closet so that you can change into them if and when you need to. As for the gun, I will make a special exception today."

"Thanks." I changed Rex's water and put some hamster crunchies and a raisin in his bowl. Rex darted out and stuffed the raisin in his cheek, looked at me, body quivering, in thanks, and darted back into his soup can hidey-hole. All's good in Rex-land.

Telling him to be a good attack hamster and not to eat all of his dessert before he eats his dinner, Ranger and I walked out of the apartment. Ranger took my key and locked the door. I watched him, then said "someday you will have to teach me how you get into my apartment so easily when I have locked the door."

"I pick the lock, Babe."

"Sure, that tells me how you are able to get past the padlocks, and I think I know how you get past the security chain. But I really do not understand how you get past the floor bolt."

"Ahh. A guy's got to have some secrets."

"Isn't that a girl's line? That a girl has to have her secrets?"

"Apparently it is a unisex line. Everybody has to have some secrets."

"Not me. I don't have secrets."

"Yes, you do. Do you tell your parents and grandmother about all your daily activities? Will you tell them about the unfortunate ejaculator, Heskell?"

"I guess I see your point. I won't be telling them that. But I don't have any secrets from you."

"You have secrets from me. You just don't realize it. They may not stay secret for forever, but at this point you have secrets from me."

"Like what?"

"Like how you feel about me and where you want this relationship to go, and whether you can accept the increased level of security. It's okay if you are still figuring that out yourself – so am I – but as of this point, where you are in your figuring is still a secret."

"I don't know the answers to those questions yet."

"I know. And neither do I." He held the car door open for me, shutting it after I had put on my seatbelt.

* * *

When we got back to the office, my car was waiting in Ranger's parking spot. It was shiny clean again.

Ranger and I walked off the elevator, and I walked over to Hal. "My car has been cleaned. Did someone bounce off the front bumper again?"

"No, this time I think it was the back bumper. Your bumper was dented slightly, but Cal knocked it back into shape before he washed it."

"I will have to thank him. My car hasn't been this clean in a long time."

"We haven't had this much fun in a long time, either", Hal said with a smile.

* * *

Sitting down, I opened up my phone and checked for messages. I had received one from Lula_. "Hey, there. I assumed we aren't going out again today. I booked an appointment to get my nails done instead. Have another file for you, in case you want to research it. Aphrodite Akuna. She has been marrying people with no qualifications to do so. She has been arrested for fraud, but she seems rather benign. She could be fun to go after. Better than that loser today."_

I wrote back, _"thanks for the info. I will research Aphrodite while I am at Rangeman today. Am here for the afternoon. Will see you tomorrow."_

I got the response, _"have fun tonight. Let me know what the pub is like."_

I also received a text from my mother. _"Are you dead? I haven't heard from you for a while. Do you want to come for dinner?"_

I responded with, _"Not dead. Just busy. Thanks for the offer for dinner but I going out with a friend tonight. Will come soon."_

Leaving my phone on my desk, I walked down to the break room, poured myself a coffee and selected a sandwich from the lunch tray and an apple from the fruit basket.

I cued up the Songza app on my phone to play upbeat '90s music and turned the volume down low. I turned on the computer and unwrapped my sandwich, eating it while I logged into the network and waited for the search engines to spit out information on Aphrodite. By the time I had finished my corned beef on rye and my apple, the computer was spitting information out at me. I printed it all off and put it aside to look at later.

Then I turned to the Rangeman files. There were six files from Sales to research that had been sitting for a couple of days. I tackled those files first. After four hours, I had finished the Sales files. Thankful for an excuse to get up and move around, I opened my office door. Sven was just putting some more Sales requests in the in-basket on the wall outside my office. "This is perfect timing", I said with a smile. "I was just about to come down to the Sales department to deliver some files. You have saved me some work."

Sven tripped over his tongue. "You look w-w-wonderful, Stephanie." He looked both ways and, not seeing Tank around, said "do you think you would be in-in-interested in g-g-going out with me some t-t-time?"

I saw Ranger come out of his office behind Sven and start walking towards us. "Thank you for the offer, Sven, but I am not interested in anything more than an office friendship." I handed him the files.

"We could go out as friends", he said hopefully.

"Thank you. I am sure you are a lovely person, but I am not interested in a friendship outside the office."

Ranger came up behind Sven in his cat-like way. "Sven", he said, making Sven jump, "I have already fired one person for making advances towards Stephanie. If you value your job, you will not make advances to her again."

"Yes, sir", said Sven. His face blushed red and, not looking at either Ranger or me in the eyes, he hurried away.

"Let me know whether he bothers you again, all right?" asked Ranger.

"He doesn't bother me. He is like an awkward little puppy, tripping over his feet in an effort to please me. He is harmless. He isn't another Adam", I said.

"I remember when you thought Adam was harmless as well."

"Adam took besotted to a whole new level. I think the infatuation with Sven will resolve itself as soon as he finds a girlfriend of his own."

"Are you in the matchmaking business now?"

"No. I don't know any girls who are that young. He's just a pup, still wet behind the ears. Although, it would be funny to see him with Lula. She'd chew him up and spit him out before he knew what was happening to himself."

Ranger laughed out loud, leaned down and gave me a light kiss on the lips, and whispered in my ear "Babe, you never fail to make my day." With another light kiss, he turned around and walked back to his office.

I took the files out of my in-basket and walked back into my office. Sven had brought me four more files from Sales to research. I sighed, picked up my coffee cup, and walked back to the break room for a refill on liquid energy.

* * *

Three hours later, Ranger was at my office door. "Are you ready to go, Babe?" He had changed into faded black jeans and a black polo shirt that stretched across his shoulders and biceps. My mouth went dry. He looked sexy. Better than, actually. He looked like an advertisement for something good. For Bulgari Green perhaps. I would buy it based on his looks.

"Can you wait fifteen more minutes? I am just about finished these files for Sales and I was hoping to drop them off on the way down to the car."

"Of course. I'll be in the control room talking to the guys when you are ready." I watched him as he walked away and checked to make sure I wasn't drooling. I hustled to finish the file, completing it in under ten minutes. Organizing my work into a file folder, I picked up my purse and locked my office door.

Walking into the control room, I saw Ranger talking quietly to Eduardo. He smiled when he saw me, said something to Eduardo and clapped him on his shoulder, then walked towards me. "That didn't take long. Did you finish your file?"

"Yes, I did, thanks. Can we just drop these off in Sales on the way out?" Ranger held the elevator door for me, then pressed the number for the second floor.

"Any surprises in what you researched?"

"Just one company. Nothing adds up. From what I read, I think it is a front for selling stolen goods. I have advised Sales to stay away from the company. The rest are all pretty commonplace, some big, some little. All profitable, nothing outstanding."

"What is the name of the company fencing stolen items?"

"You won't believe this. Gateway Fencing Company. And that is if I am right. I am not entirely sure, but that is how I am reading the information. I am sure enough to flag the company and advise Rangeman to stay away from taking them on as a client."

"You know, if I didn't know you were serious I would think this was a joke. A fencing operation named Gateway Fencing Company? Really?"

"I know. The irony is astounding." We walked into Sales. Sven saw us and scuttled away into a room in the back. "Here are your files", I told Emilio as I dropped them on his desk.

"Just a minute. I have to talk to Andy", said Ranger. He walked back into the office of the Head of Sales. He spoke to Andy for a couple of minutes, Sven peeking around the corner at me the whole time. Any time I saw him, however, he quickly flushed and looked away.

"Adam told us that you and he were getting married", said Emilio.

"Adam was delusional", I said. "I never gave him any encouragement, yet he persisted in believing he loved me. He didn't even know me."

"He wanted to."

"That's true, but you don't always get what you want. I hadn't known him more than two days before he decided he was in love with me. In comparison, after the same time period I did not even know his last name. He was sending texts to me and I didn't know who was sending the texts. If he had been reasonable, maybe I could have become friends with him with enough time. But he wasn't reasonable. It is impossible to hound someone into loving you."

Emilio lowered his voice to a whisper. "Just so you know, a number of men in Sales have chipped in and made a pool of money available to the first person to get you to agree to go out on a date with them."

I could feel my eyes grow round. "I hope that you didn't waste your money on this bet", I whispered back.

"No. I'm married and I've got three sisters. I wouldn't want my wife or sisters to be treated like that. I think only Andy and myself abstained. I don't even think Andy knows about it."

"Thank you for telling me."

I smelled the faint scent of Bulgari Green just seconds before I felt the tug on my ponytail. Ranger's hand drifted lower and settled on my lower back. I turned to him, and he kissed me lightly on the lips. "Ready to go, Babe?"

"Absolutely", I said, forcing a smile.

He looked at me, assessing, then guided me out of the office and into the elevator. "What's going on?"

"Emilio just told me everybody in Sales, with the exception of Andy and Emilio, contributed to a fund. Whoever was the first person to successfully go out with me will win the pot. It makes me feel a little weird. I am choosing to take this as a compliment, however, even if it does make me feel off balanced."

"I will deal with this tomorrow morning. This is ridiculous. I just spoke to Andy about Sven, asking him to stop sending Sven upstairs with the files. Tomorrow I will ask that Emilio be sent up instead."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

We took the Porsche Turbo to the restaurant, classical tunes playing softly in the background.

"You don't have to say anything to Andy. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, and you can hardly fire a whole department when they are having a little bit of harmless fun. I should be able to handle this myself."

"Remember what I told you last week when Adam was harassing you. You are a member of the Rangeman staff and, as such, you deserve to come to work in a comfortable environment. This means that people aren't allowed to treat you as though you were an object, as the prize in a lottery. You are a valuable person and deserve to be treated with respect. I am with Emilio. If you were my sister I would be angry. With me being your boss, I am angry. With us having a more personal relationship, I am furious. This should not be happening."

"As long as they are just looking…"

"Would they be looking if you were a guy? They need to treat you like one of the guys despite the fact that you are not."

"Good thing I'm not. I'm not sure if I would like all that scratching my privates and telling tall tales about one's sexual prowess that goes along with being a man", I said with a smile.

"Do you think that's what men do when they are together with other men?"

"My guess is that such a view is just as accurate as saying that all women talk about is sex, shopping and food."

"No. They talk about dieting and guys as well", Ranger said with a smile. "I have four sisters, remember?"

I laughed. "We do talk about other things, too. Family, especially kids, are also a big part of conversation."

"Guys talk about more than their sexual conquests as well. We also talk about sports." He reached across, picked up my hand and kissed my fingers. He then put my hand down on his thigh and shifted gears.

* * *

There was a small parking lot to the rear of the pub. Someone was pulling out just as we got there, leaving a parking spot in a prime location for us. We walked into the pub, blinking a little in the dim but noisy interior, and asked to be seated on the outdoor patio. Following the hostess outside, we were led to a lovely spot, a large wooden porch blocked off from the parking lot by high wooden fences decorated with ivy and hanging baskets. A couple of trees grew through the middle of the wooden decking, providing a shady respite from the heat of the summer's day. Ranger and I each ordered a Corona while we looked at the menus.

"What do you want to order, Babe?"

"I don't know. It all looks good, and lunch was a long time ago. I'm thinking nachos, but the wings sound really good as well."

"Why don't we order one order of wings, and one order of nachos and split them?"

I stared at him. "You look like Ranger, but you don't sound like Ranger. What happened to 'my body is a temple'?"

"I decided to take a walk on the wild side for the evening."

"Mmm", I smiled. "This has possibilities. How do you like your wings?"

"I usually have them with barbeque flavouring. Most often a medium in heat although I can comfortably go hotter or more mild."

"I usually order them as a medium barbeque as well."

Ranger captured my hand on the table and started playing with my fingers. A woman came up to us, carrying over salt and pepper shakers and putting napkins on the table in front of us. Her kinky black curly hair stuck out of her head like she had put her finger in a light socket, and her piercing gray eyes looked like they were seeing right through me. "I can tell the two of you are in a committed relationship. You love each other very much and deserve to be together. You should be together. I will give you my card. I do weddings and I would love to marry the two of you."

I took the card but didn't look at it. I thanked the lady and, in the absence of a garbage can located close by, I put the card in my purse. It seemed to make the lady happy and I figured I could throw out the card just as easily when I got home as I could now.

Talk drifted lazily from work to family to friends. I did most of the talking, although that was no surprise. Ranger is a pretty quiet kind of guy.

After dinner was finished, we drove to Cadwalader Park and strolled around the lake. Ranger held my hand as we walked, periodically lifting my hand to kiss my fingers. As we neared the parking lot, my steps slowed. I did not want the evening to end.

"I don't care whether we go to your place or mine, as long as we spend the night together", Ranger said. He must have read my mind.

"I have food. You have Ella. I have Rex and clothing for me to wear. You have uniforms for me to wear and clothing for you to wear. You have a king-sized bed, I have a queen. I guess your place wins."

"We can go to your place so you can look after Rex and so that you can pick up some clothing."

"That's a deal. I want to have non-uniform clothing to wear tomorrow since I am chasing some skips with Lula. They are the terrorist hoaxer and the human traffickers. I have a new file to catch as well, but I didn't look at the paperwork. I just printed off the info when I was at the office."

"Will you be in the office tomorrow?"

"I plan on catching my skips in the morning, and then come into the office in the afternoon. I am being optimistic in hoping that we are successful in performing our captures. As I said, I haven't yet seen the new file yet."

"Didn't you say that the human traffickers were a husband and wife team?"

"Yes."

"How will you capture two people at once with just Lula and yourself? Do you want to do the legwork on the file, and then have a Rangeman team come do the capture?"

"If you don't mind, that would be awesome. The whole crime itself is abhorrent. It hits me more than most of the skips' crimes do. I don't want to do anything at all that could result in the skips getting away."

* * *

Ranger's watch alarm went off at five the next morning. I was all snuggly and warm tucked into his side, my hands down his pants. I think I growled at him as he tried to extricate himself from my hold without waking me unduly. I could feel the rumble in his chest as he quietly laughed. "You have to let me up, Babe. I need to go have a workout." I burrowed in deeper to his side. "Babe", he said on an exasperated laugh. I reluctantly let him go. He slipped out of the bed, smoothing my hair away from my face and kissing my brow. "Go back to sleep."

At eight o'clock Ranger kissed me awake with a cup of coffee in hand. "Did I wake this morning when you got up?" I asked.

"A little bit. You didn't want me to get up."

"I thought I remembered something like that. Sorry about that."

"That's okay. I didn't mind."

"Did I actually growl?" I asked, mentally crossing my fingers in the hopes that I was just misremembering.

"Yes. I believe I remember that. You growled right before you told me you were comfortable, and that my moving out of that cuddle position would result in you tossing me over for Sven and the rest of the Sales team."

Good grief.

I looked at Ranger. He had a full-on smile on his face. In my still sleep-stupefied state, I could not tell if he was teasing me.

"Time for a shower before breakfast, or after?" I asked as the coffee started to kick in.

"After. Ella will be up momentarily with breakfast." Ranger got up and retrieved his housecoat for me to wear. I got up and put it on as I heard Ella come into the apartment with the breakfast tray. Calling out to us to have a good day, she left the apartment again.

I followed Ranger to the breakfast bar, getting cutlery out for the blueberry yogurt parfaits and toasted cinnamon raisin bagels and cream cheese that were on the tray. I poured myself another coffee, and filled up Ranger's cup.

After breakfast was finished, I stood up from the table, went over to Ranger and sat on his lap. "Please tell me that I didn't really threaten to throw you over for the Sales team if you got out of bed."

"You know how I said a man gets to have secrets?"

"This isn't one of those times", I said.

"No, this isn't one of those times. I made it up, just to see the expression on your face."

"I used to think you were a good guy", I grumbled. I reached down and started rubbing him through his pants. When he seemed to be getting quite interested, I stood up. "Time for me to get ready for work", I said. I slid off his lap as he shifted himself awkwardly.

"And I used to think you were a good girl."

"Oh, no. I've never been a good girl", I said as I laughingly walked away.

I had company in my shower.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

I got to the office ten minutes late, which meant that I beat Lula to the office by twenty minutes.

"You have a few files outstanding", said Connie. "Vinnie is starting to make noises. There are a number of felons coming up for trial soon, and he wants your case load cleaned up pronto."

"Why is he so upset? I only have four files open, and two of them live in the same house."

"The human traffickers and the terrorist hoaxer are all high bonds. And he is grumpy about everything right now. Lucille is keeping him on a very short leash, a choke collar actually, and he is feeling the pinch."

"After everything he has put her through, what was the final straw that made her shorten the leash?"

"I think she found out about the duck."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she came storming in the office with a duck under her arm, saying the duck was her pet and asking how could he?"

"Yeah, I can see how that you make you think the duck was involved. Tell him I am working on the files. Today we are going after the terrorist hoaxer and the cupid. I want to do reconnaissance on the human traffickers, but Ranger said he would bring in a team to help me do the takedown. With there being two to capture at the same time, it would be next to impossible for Lula and me to capture them ourselves."

"That will make Vinnie feel better. Lula said you went on another date with Ranger last night?"

"Yes. We had a great night", I said, smiling in remembrance. "We went out to that new pub on Main Street, then went for a walk in Cadwalader Park. I ended up spending the night at his place again."

"Did I hear you right, girlfriend?" asked Lula as she walked into the office. "Did I hear you say that you spent the night at his place? I thought you were moving back into your own place."

"We had such a good time last night we didn't want the evening to end. And my car was still at Rangeman, so we headed over to his place. It is easier anyway. I have doubles of a lot of my stuff stored at Ranger's."

"You have your face wash there?" asked Connie.

"Yep. My face wash, a hair dryer, hairbrush, toothbrush, makeup, even pads and tampons. I've got a store of clothing there – mostly uniforms, but still clothing – and some of my favourite foods are in the kitchen."

"You've practically moved in", squealed Lula.

"No, but I have lived there almost exclusively for the past two months. You tend to make your mark on the space in that amount of time."

"You are practically married", said Lula. "Mrs. Stephanie Manosa."

"Don't let Ranger hear you say that. Besides, we aren't even close. I have never met his family, I do not really know all that much about him. I know his character, but I don't know his past and I barely know his present. I definitely don't know his plans for the future. There is a whole lot of sharing that needs to happen before we could call what we have a relationship. Right now, we are just friends with benefits."

"And they look like they would be some pretty fine benefits", said Lula, smacking her lips.

"Yes, they are very fine benefits. The best benefits I have ever experienced."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Lula. "The professional always knows!"

I opened up the file on Aphrodite Akuna. I flipped through the information, pausing on the picture. Same gray eyes, same bristly black curly hair. Excitedly, I got out the discarded business card from the weird lady at the pub. Sure enough, the name on the card was Aphrodite Akuna. I was excited and frustrated at the same time. I had been so close to being able to make a capture last night. I just did not know it.

"I have a lead on Aphrodite", I said. "She works at the pub Ranger and I went to last night. She came up to Ranger and me and asked us if we would like to get married."

Connie almost spat out her mouthful of coffee. "I would have liked to have seen Ranger's face when she asked that."

"Mr. and Mrs. Manosa. Mrs. Ranger Manosa. Mrs. Ricardo Manosa. Mrs. Stephanie Manosa. I like it", said Lula.

"NO! We are not getting married. We are not even boyfriend and girlfriend. We have just gone on a couple of dates." They were pretty fantastic dates, but they were just two dates. And two dates do not make a romantic relationship. "Ranger's crew switches between monitoring and patrol at eleven o'clock. The pub won't open until eleven o'clock, when they open for the lunch crowd. Let's go after the hoaxer, then head over to the pub for some information and some lunch, and finally off to gather some information on the traffickers. Rangeman is helping us do the takedown on them", I explained to Lula.

"Sounds like a plan to me", said Lula.

* * *

The hoaxer had a job, working as a check-out clerk at a grocery store near State and Maple. I phoned her work and found out that her shift started at eleven o'clock. Just enough time to suit up, drive to her house, and try to capture her before she went to work.

We headed out to the car, getting dressed in the process. Lula once again squished her body into the flak vest while I put on my Kevlar and utility belt. I put my gun in the holster while Lula tucked hers in the back of her waistband. Lula's birthday was coming up, and I decided that I would buy Lula a utility belt for her birthday. It just may be hard to find one in her size. I would ask Tank where to shop for it. At 6'6" and muscular, he would have a good idea where the more generously proportioned people should shop.

We drove to the projects, parking a couple of houses down the street from Ava Madison's house. I looked at the file again. No children. That is good. I hate taking skips in front of their kids.

We walked to the front porch of the townhouse and rang the doorbell. We could hear someone walking inside towards the door, accompanied by a ferocious sounding dog. I got my Maglite out of my utility belt. The Maglite was perfect for bashing in heads of uncooperative skips and dangerous dogs. As a side benefit, it also worked well as a flashlight.

"I can hear you in there, Ava. We are your bond enforcement officers and you missed your court date. We have come to take you to the station to get rescheduled. You need to do that. You are a wanted felon. Without being rescheduled, anyone can get charged for helping you. This means that your boyfriend could get charged for letting you stay at his place, and your employer could get charged for harbouring a felon as well. That would likely result in you getting fired. Once you get rescheduled you will no longer be a fugitive and you will be treated the way you are now."

"I don't like jail. They aren't very nice to me there."

"They aren't nice to you because you weren't nice to them."

"I just sent them talcum powder. It wasn't any big deal."

"That may be, but whatever you did, you are in a heap of trouble now. You need to go to court to tell the judge why it wasn't a big deal and, until you get rescheduled, you are a wanted fugitive."

"Okay. Let me get dressed."

"Let us in, first."

"No. I won't be long."

I looked at Lula, and she looked at me. "I'll take the back. Holler if she comes out the front."

I jogged around the side of the building just in time to see Ava leave her backyard and walk quickly in the other direction. I took off after her, tackling her from behind. The two of us went smacking onto the ground, her bucking desperately to try to dislodge me, and me trying desperately to not let her get away. I was able to get one half of the cuffs on Ava. I shouted "bond enforcement" and flipped her over onto her stomach before slipping the other bracelet on her wrist. Then, huffing and puffing, I pulled Ava to her feet and started to march her around the end of the row of townhouses to meet up with Lula. Ava struggled to get away, yanking and tugging on my hands in an effort to dislodge me. Finally, I stopped walking. "Did you see the Maglite on my utility belt?" I asked.

"Yeah, so what, white girl?"

"So I don't use that for the flashlight capabilities. If you look closely at it, you would probably find hair and blood on it from the last person I hit." I was completely bluffing, but I hoped that Ava would not question my tough girl act.

"Oh, yeah? You can't do that. I'd report you to the police."

"Go ahead, for two reasons. To report me to the police you would have to make a statement, which means that you would have to talk to a police officer, which means that you would be picked up by the cops for skipping bail. My job would then be done. The other part is that the police will not be very considerate of your feelings in all this. Based on what you did, I imagine that I would get a commendation for assaulting you rather than jail time. You are basically screwed in all this and it's your own fault. Now, we will walk calmly to the car so that I don't have to bash your head."

"You wouldn't have enough guts to hit me on the head."

"No?" I said, deadly quiet, imitating Ranger. "Are you sure about that? Do you want to try me?"

By this time we were almost at the car. Lula had not spotted us yet. She was playing on a hopscotch that one of the neighbourhood children had drawn in chalk on the sidewalk. "Lula! Get the shackles!" I called out.

Ava started to struggle again. "I ain't going in no fucking shackles."

I gave her a shake. "Yes, you are. Now, do I need to get out my Maglite to convince you?" Lula come over to us carrying the shackles while Ava continued to struggle. "What do you think it should be, Lula? Bashing her over the head with my Maglite, or zapping her with my stun gun? Ava twisted and turned, kicking out as Lula tried to get the shackles on her feet. "Stun gun, I think. You can do the honours, Lula, since it is your face she is trying to kick."

Ava continued to struggle, fighting even harder, if that was even possible. "You are letting me stun her? You hardly ever let me do that." Lula took my stun gun out of my utility belt and turned it on. As soon as the light went green, Lula zapped Ava. She went down like a load of bricks.

"Damn skippy", I said as I took the shackles from Lula's hand and put them on Ava's ankles. "It was pretty tense around the police department for a while until they discovered that it was all a hoax. She may have thought that it was funny, but the police were definitely not laughing. She deserves to be shot rather than stunned, but that is my personal opinion. I keep telling myself we have to trust in the system and I cheer myself up by thinking she might not be able to make bail this time around."

I picked Ava up by her shoulders and Lula picked her up by her ankles, and we carried her to the car. "Ava actually bought my tough girl act for a while. Threatening to brain her with the Maglite worked for a little while to encourage cooperation."

"Putting a return address on the ricin letter, believing your tough girl act, she isn't very smart, is she?"

"I thought maybe I was just getting better at playing the tough girl."

"Oh, sweetie, no", she said, shaking her head. "She's just plain dumb."

Damn.

I unlocked the door and we bundled Ava into the car, put on her seatbelt, and shut the door. Lula and I got in the front seat and I drove to the bonds office. I dropped Lula off and drove to the precinct. By the time I got there Ava was coming to and fighting mad. I drove into the drop-off area and called the docket officer in charge to send someone out to help me move Ava into the station. I got out of the car and watched my car rock up and down on its wheels as Ava bucked and kicked in her seat.

Morelli walked out of the station. "I heard you needed help transferring in a skip, Cupcake." He looked at the movements of my car. "Epileptic seizure?" he asked.

"No. Just angry. We had to stun her to get her in the car."

"What is she in for?"

"This is Ava Madison. She was the person who threatened Billy Bennett with ricin a few weeks ago. I was quite happy when she was resisting arrest and I could justify stunning her."

"The Kevlar, utility belt and gun is a new look for you."

"I don't always accessorize this way. I just wanted to scare the crap out of her, and Lula said that I don't exactly look scary on my own."

"No, there is a reason I call you 'cupcake'." He looked at me for a moment, leaned over and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "I haven't seen you for a couple of days. I've missed you."

"It's nice to see you as well. How's Bob?" Bob is Morelli's shaggy orange Chewbacca-type of dog. He is as affectionate as hell and as dumb as a post.

"Bob's good. He misses you."

"He's a good dog. How's your family?"

"I am trying to stop my grandmother from cursing you. So far, I have succeeded, mainly because she hasn't seen you. I would stay away from her if you can." Morelli's Grandma Bella has a habit of cursing me whenever she is angry with me. Unfortunately for me, she is angry at me a lot. Even more unfortunately for me, her curses seem to work.

"Thanks for the warning." I looked down at my skip, who was continuing to have an attack of some kind, screaming and swearing at me from the inside of the car. "I think she is starting to foam at the mouth. Let's get her inside before she eats her way out of the seatbelt."

Morelli opened the door while I ran around to the other side of the car and undid her seatbelt. Released, Ava put her head down and launched herself out of the car, surprising Morelli and knocking him out of the way with her head-butting ramming technique. She started to run away, but the shackles slowed her down considerably. I chased her down, tackling her in the driveway to the precinct. We both went down, hard, on the pavement. Ava took the brunt of the fall, skidding across the asphalt and skinning her knees. I was remarkably less hurt. I had landed on Ava.

Ava was crying, screaming and swearing, bucking me off and trying to bite me. I was angry. As I was getting off her and standing up again, I leaned over and said "the offer still stands. Stun gun again, or Maglite? Because if you don't start cooperating, you will get one or the other. And if I remain in as nasty a mood as you are putting me in, you might get both."

Morelli came jogging up to us. "Sorry, Cupcake, she surprised me."

"I could tell. It's not often that someone gets the drop on you." Morelli reached down on one side of Ava and I reached down on other, and on the count of three we lifted her up onto her feet. I locked the car on the way into the station, cuffed the still swearing and fighting mad Ava to the bench, removed my shackles, and got my paperwork filled out. I walked out to the waiting Morelli and kissed him on his cheek. "Thank you for the help."

"Do you want to go to Pino's for lunch?" he asked.

"I would normally say 'yes', but I have a lunch date with Lula and a skip today. Thank you for the offer, though."

"You aren't buying your skips lunch again, are you?"

"No. The skip works at the restaurant. It's just Lula and I who are having lunch."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Connie wrote me a cheque for Ava Madison while I waited for Lula to put away her bulletproof vest, her gun and her pepper spray. With doing the takedown in a restaurant, I wanted to go in naked. Not literally naked. Just without all the accessories. There was no point in scaring the customers for no reason. The felon was just a harmless old woman who liked to perform illegal marriages. Phrased like that, she did not seem to be too intimidating at all.

I thanked Connie and put the cheque in my purse. "Have you heard from Vinnie recently?" I asked.

"Yes. He is going nuts stuck around the house. He said if you don't clean up your list soon, he will start doing captures himself again."

"I would like to see that. The last time he did captures with me he shot the skip in the foot. Twice. I was just glad we were driving his car as that sucker bled all over the place. He said he would never do skip chasing again."

"I think he is desperate enough to consider it now."

"I am surprised that Lucille isn't desperate enough to consider letting Vinnie go skip chasing again as well. Anything to get him away from her."

"Steph, that is your cousin you are talking about!" said Connie with a grin.

"But he's not from the branch of the family we like to acknowledge", I said. "When it comes right down to it, however, he did let me blackmail him into giving me a job and that was more than any other member of my family had allowed. And he did keep me on, even though I didn't have a clue what I was doing. In his own way, he has been good to me."

Lula walked out of the bathroom. "Sorry for the delay. I had to readjust the girls after that flak vest squished me so tight. I had Lula squishing out in areas where Lulas are not supposed to squish."

* * *

We got to the pub and, because it was a nice day, we headed off to the patio. Grabbing a shady table, we ordered iced teas and the menus.

The patio was not busy. When the server came to take our order, Lula asked for a burger and fries. I ordered a philly cheesesteak with sweet potato fries. I then pulled out Aphrodite's picture.

"I'm sorry. I don't recognize her at all. I don't usually work the evening shift though, so she may have just started and I don't know. Is it important?"

"It is, actually. Would it be possible to see the manager?" She left with our orders. The manager hustled over shortly afterwards.

"May I help you?"

I introduced Lula and myself, then said, "I was here last night with a friend of mine and this person", I held out Aprhrodite's picture "helped serve us. I am trying to find her."

"She doesn't work here. I don't recognize her at all. Did you say she served you?"

"She didn't serve the food or alcohol. She just brought over salt, pepper and condiments, and napkins. She then gave me her card and offered to marry my friend and myself. I still have the card. This morning, when I looked through my files for the people I was supposed to capture today, I found her picture. I hoped to track her down here during your non-busy time. "

"I don't recognize her at all. Penny was working on the patio yesterday evening. She is working the bar right now. I will send her out in a few minutes to talk to you."

We thanked the manager as our food arrived. The food was just as good at lunch as it had been the night before, and I predicted the patio would be a popular spot this summer.

The manager came to our table with the bartender in tow. "I haven't got a clue who that person is", she said, looking at the picture. "I remember you and that good looking man coming in. I remember serving you. And your friend was a generous tipper, I remember that. But I don't remember anyone else at your table, and I don't remember anyone else serving in my section. I would not have been happy to be sharing the job. Less tips for me."

"Thank you for your help." Penny turned and walked away.

I turned to the manager and asked whether there was a surveillance system in place. "We do have one, although it is focused on the door and the till out here, not on the actual tables themselves."

"There is only one entrance and exit from the patio. If the woman was leaving, she would have to go out through that door. I would like to view the security footage."

"Certainly. As soon as you finish your meals, come on back to my office and I would be happy to show you. I'll just go and pull them up on my computer for you now." He turned and left to cue up the tapes.

Lula and I finished our meals and signalled to the waitress that we were ready for the bill. "It has already been taken care of", she said with a smile. "The manager said your meal was on the house." I thanked her and left a good tip on the table.

"If I had known that, I would have ordered the lobster penne", said Lula. I shook my head. If she had ordered the lobster, our meals might not have been covered.

We walked back to the manager's office. "I have isolated the tapes for the time period you specified for the camera over the door. I was waiting for you to come in before I watched them."

We sat down in front of the manager's desk and he turned the monitor around so that we could all see the camera shots. We fast-forwarded through a number of people coming and going until you could see Ranger and I arrive. We looked like a couple. Ranger was standing close to me, his hand on my lower back, as we waited for our table to be readied. We then walked off screen. About ten minutes later, we saw Aphrodite walk through the doorway from the patio into the pub itself. The manager brought up the cameras on the bar and all the entrances and exits to the pub. We watched Aphrodite leave the building. We watched for a few more minutes but she didn't come back.

"Thank you for your help. From what I have seen, it would be stupid for me to stakeout your restaurant in an effort to catch her. I suspect she won't be back. However," I opened up my purse and pulled out a business card, "I would appreciate a call if you do see her. She is not dangerous, but she is marrying people illegally. This means that people who think they are married are in reality not, and this could make a difference legally. It's just a little charge, but it will not look good for her if she doesn't go to court and answer to it."

Frustrated, Lula and I headed out to the car. We sat inside, rolling down the windows to let the fresh breeze blow out the hot, stale air. I pulled out the files.

"How will we capture Aphrodite? It seems like our best lead has now gone kaput", asked Lula.

"We will capture her the old fashioned way. We will go to her house and try there, we will go to her work and try there, and we will discover and then visit her family and friends and try there. We will find her. For a change in pace, however, let's do some of the searching for the traffickers."

"All right, where do you want to look first?"

"I don't want to make contact. I just want to do a stakeout. Let's try their house first to see if they are there."

I got out of the car and said to Lula, "who do you want to be? Exterminator? Ministry of Transport? Molly Maid?"

"Exterminator, I think. We need to smoke out those rats from wherever they are."

I agreed. The traffickers were rats, preying on the hopes and dreams of their own staff. "Exterminator, it is", I said and pulled the corresponding magnetic signs out of my trunk. I applied the signs to the driver and front passenger door, got in the car, and drove to the traffickers' neighbourhood. We parked three houses down on the opposite side of the street and sat, quiet, with our windows down for the breeze. As the sun beat in on us, I started to sweat and my mood plummeted. I hate sweating. I wasn't a cold weather girl, but I definitely wasn't a hot weather girl either. I was more of a fair weather girl. Spring and Autumn are my seasons.

After some time, when I was just about ready to give up, a cube truck pulled into the driveway. Blake Avery, one of the two skips, got out from the driver's side and opened the back of the truck. At least ten Latino women climbed out of the back, scurrying into the house. One woman fell as she got out of the truck. Blake kicked her, picked her up and slapped her across her face. She beetled after the other women into the house. Blake got back in the truck and drove away.

"Call Ranger", I said to Lula. I started the car and followed the truck.

"Babe."

"I have one of the human traffickers in sight. He is on the move. How do you want to handle it?"

"I will divert all the patrol guys out to you. Do not approach the guy until we are there. Call me if there is any change in plans. I will coordinate from this end."

I followed the truck, two car lengths behind, as he drove to an office building to pick up some more workers. By the time he had finished his pickup, there were two Rangeman vehicles behind me. Unfortunately, he had also spotted us tailing him. He performed a series of hairpin turns which must have knocked the passengers in the back around quite a bit, then lost us by driving through a red light. I would have followed, but at the last minute I stopped. There were too many cars coming and the potential of getting T-boned was high.

"Shit", I bit out. When the light turned green I went through the intersection and parked in the first parking lot I could find. The Rangeman vehicles followed me in. I pulled out the phone and called Ranger. "I lost him on a red light. He went through one, and since there was a wall of traffic coming through the intersection, I decided it was safer to stop."

"It pays to be safe."

"But I got all the Rangeman staff here. I've pulled them off their routes."

"That's okay. Consider it a trial run. You can't get them all the first time."

Lula and I got out of the car and met the three Rangeman teams. "I'm sorry, guys. I was doing well there for a while."

"You were sticking to him like a burr on a dog's tail", said Ramon.

"Yeah, you would have been smushed if you had gone through that light", said Calvin.

"I wouldn't have wanted to tell Ranger why you were in an accident on my watch", said Hector.

"What is this guy wanted for, anyway?" asked Manuel.

"It's a husband and wife team, and they are wanted for human trafficking. They illegally import people from South America into the States and then force them to work for peanuts and in some cases just for the price of room and board. Some of the women sign up for the deal thinking that they are coming to a better life. Others are stolen off the streets of South America and brought up here. Judging by what we saw today, I think they are still abusing people's rights and people's dreams. Because the women don't speak English and are illegal immigrants, they have no recourse to escape their life. I want to get these guys badly. They are a high bond as they are a high flight risk."

"We'll get them next time", said Ramon. The men all turned and went back to their cars, and went on their way.

I was still steaming when Lula piped up with "it has been a successful day so far. We got one capture, had an excellent lunch which was only made better by the fact that it was free, and we almost captured another skip. All in all, a good day. Now, Lula is hot, so we are going to have to either get ice cream or go back to the office."

"Ice cream. I need some happy food. And then I will drop you back at the office. I have stuff to do at Rangeman." We locked the car and walked into the convenience store. Lula and I walked over to the ice cream freezer and looked inside. I waited for Lula to make her selection first. I wanted an ice cream sandwich – how cool are they? They combine cookies with chocolate with ice cream. It was a three-for-one. It can't get any better than that. But while I knew what I wanted, Lula needed to look at all the iced treats. She needed to consider and weigh her decision. She rooted through all the ice cream bars, finally selecting two. A Haagen-daas chocolate and almond bar, and a caramel Drumstick. "Do you think I could have two?" she said. "They are good for my mojo."

"It's hot out. I think one will melt while you are eating the other."

"Yeah, you are probably right." She put the two treats in front of her and said "sky blue, sky blue, who's out, not you." She picked up the one that she indicated, hesitated, then exchanged it for the other one.

I picked out my sandwich bar and went to the cash to pay for the two ice creams. Following Lula outside, we sat on the curbstone beside my car, cooling off as we ate. Both of us were successful in eating the snacks before they melted on our hands. We are the ultimate eating machines.

"Perhaps we can search for Aphrodite tomorrow morning?" I suggested. "I want to go back to Rangeman. I think Ranger wanted to see if we could fit in a workout. I could use one to work off some of this frustration."

"Girlfriend, I would want to work off some of that frustration with him as well. I wouldn't mind getting all hot and sweaty with him."

"I was actually thinking of practicing in the gun range."

"Is that what you are calling it now? I would like to see his gun, too. I bet he has a big gun. I would like to practice with his gun in the range, too. Of course, practicing with his gun anywhere would be good. In the bedroom, in the car, in the office…"

"You are incorrigible."

"I am not sure what that means, but I can incorrigible the ass out of it."

I smiled.

"See, happy food strikes again. Ice cream is sure to cure the soul", said Lula.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

I walked onto the fifth floor to see Hal and Eduardo at the monitoring stations. "Next time", said Hal.

"I just feel bad. Everybody interrupted their day to help me and I lost the guy."

"From what we heard, it would have been too dangerous for you to continue the chase. You will get them next time", said Eduardo.

"It will be harder now. He knows my car."

"So, drive one of the fleet cars", said Ranger as he came up behind me. "There will be another chance and you will get him then. Don't worry. There wasn't anything you could have done differently."

"You wouldn't have lost him."

"Yes, I would have. Like you, I would have elected to stay alive and not go through the intersection."

"I was coming up to see if you had time for a workout or to spend some time in the range?"

"I do. Let's go into my office for a minute and talk."

"This sounds ominous."

"No, not really." He led me into his office and closed the door. "A few things. First of all, thank you for not going through that intersection. The guys said they weren't sure at first whether you were going to stop."

"It did occur to me to just go for it. But I thought the guys would follow me and, if one of us was lucky enough to make it through the intersection, there would be no way that all four of us would."

"I know how much capturing this skip means to you, but no skip is worth taking chances with your life. These skips seem to be particularly important to you. Why?"

"The short answer is I don't know." I paused. "I have always been sickened by the thought of slavery. To think that a person is owned by another person is disgusting. Some of those poor women signed up for this life, thinking they were signing up for a better life. For the American dream. Others were kidnapped from their homes. No matter how they got here, the traffickers are taking advantage of the women and are treating them as moneymaking machines rather than as people with thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams. The women they choose to prey upon are women who have little power. Because of a language barrier, their illegal alien status, and segregation from society, they are helpless and that makes me angry. These women will never have a chance for a normal life, to fall in love, to get married, to have children if that is something they want.

"With what happened with Adam, I have become especially sensitized to those who are helpless, just because at times I felt so angry and helpless. And that was with a whole team of people behind me supporting me. It would have been so much worse if I had been all alone, not able to speak the language, trapped in this life, not knowing anyone other than other people trapped in the same situation, knowing I couldn't return to my home country, like these women must feel. What these women have to deal with is not sexual harassment like I underwent. It is so much worse."

"You're right. Slavery is disgusting and human trafficking is no better than slavery. No one should ever have to feel helpless or all alone. Although this slavery is different than your sexual harassment, I can understand why your feelings would be the same as theirs. You should never have to deal with sexual harassment again, at least not at Rangeman."

"Thank you, but I think it is an unfortunate fact that sexual harassment of some sort is experienced by nearly every female out there at some point or another. It's not right, but you have to learn to roll with the punches a bit. Most of it is harmless. Some isn't. You just have to put up with the harmless stuff and hope that you have support to help you with the stuff that is less benign."

"You will always have support here to deal with both the harmless and not so harmless harassment. Speaking of which, I spoke to Andy this morning. He did not know of the pool that had been started in Sales. Together we talked to the Sales team and made it clear that the next person who made any advances to you would be fired. We also said the money should be spent on a pizza lunch for the guys on Friday. It was a significant amount of money so Sales is treating the whole company to pizza. You are invited to come as the guest of honour, but you do not need to come. If you think that it will make you feel at all uncomfortable, tell me."

"It will make me feel odd, for sure, but I think it will be important for me to do if I want to become one of the team. I wouldn't think twice about a pizza lunch with the guys from Operations and I need to get the relationship with Sales back on an even keel."

"I think it will be good for the Sales team to see how the Operations staff treats you."

"Will you be there?"

"Yes, I will be there for the entire time period that you are there."

"Okay, then. I will go."

"I have also asked that, for the time being, Emilio is sent up to Operations with any files and research requests. Once the hoopla has died down, we can try some of the other guys again."

"They can also e-mail their requests to me. They don't have to run them up. Then, when I finish the reports, I will run them down. It may be faster that way, and less annoying for Emilio. I was trying to get Adam and Sven to do that, but they preferred to run them upstairs. Could Sven look in your face today?"

"No. I talked to Andy about his performance. He isn't as much of a go-getter as we would like in Sales. He is too young and hasn't developed the way that we thought he would. I am not sure if we will keep him. I am still worried about his treatment of you. I know you think he is harmless, but both Andy and I are watching him to see what happens over the next few weeks before we make any final decisions. His annual review is coming up, so we want to have some decisions made before we meet with him then."

"He's just a pup. He's what, eighteen?"

"He's twenty-seven."

"Twenty-seven? You're kidding! I can see why you are worried about him. He doesn't have the confidence for Sales. I always imagine that those in Sales need to have a fair amount of self-assurance."

"You just nailed Andy's concerns about him. He will try to work with him a little more, to see if there is something we can do to try to save the working relationship. The problem is that we are growing so fast, we are taking on staff too rapidly. We need people so desperately that we aren't getting only the very best but are also hiring some rejects in our attempt to hire bodies and fill spaces. We might have to chalk Sven up to a poor hiring decision. Tell me about the rest of your day."

"We caught the terrorist hoaxer. She was violently upset. We had to stun her to shackle her and get her into the car. She was so angry. She was having such a bad temper tantrum and shaking the car so hard when she came to I thought my car must have been dancing on its tires. I called for backup when I got to the station and Morelli came out to help me. When we released her from the seatbelt she head-butted Morelli and knocked him aside, then tried to run away. I tackled her, skinning her hands and knees. She was so angry. I don't know if I have ever had a skip that was so violently angry before, and that is saying something. I was happy when Morelli and I escorted her into the holding area."

"How was Morelli?"

"He was fine. He said that his grandmother wants to curse me."

"Just words, Babe."

"Not from where I'm sitting." Ranger just smiled. "Also, I found out the identity of the other skip. Do you know who it was? The lady last night who wanted to marry us. Her name is Aphrodite Akuna. Lula and I went back to the pub for lunch today and talked to the serving staff and the manager. She doesn't work there and no staff member knew who she was or even that she had been there. We looked at the surveillance tapes and she left shortly after talking to us. I have her address and work information, so Lula and I will try to chase her down tomorrow."

"Are those all the files you have outstanding? The traffickers and the cupid?"

"Yes, although Connie texted me on the way in here and said that I have two more waiting in the office. Vinnie has been upset about me not catching the skips fast enough. He is threatening to go out skip chasing himself."

"Vinnie?" Ranger let out a bark of laughter. "Wasn't the last time he went skip chasing the time he ended up dressed in a Hobbit costume?"

"I think he liked that Hobbit costume", I said.

"I actually could see him better as a furry."

"We know he likes dogs, and Lucille just found out about the duck. Thinking of him having sex with someone dressed up as an animal doesn't seem like that much of a stretch to me."

"I wonder what animal he would choose to dress up as?" asked Ranger.

"I always thought a weasel would be appropriate."

"Either that, or a beaver."

"True. Any excuse to get in a beaver…costume."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

We started out by spending a half hour in the range. My aim was slowly getting better and I was not minding the body targets as much as I had been even just a few days before. It helped that Ranger did not make me aim for the head today.

Following shooting several clips into the chest, Ranger and I headed up to the gym. Once again, Ranger shut the gym down and scrambled the feed. I glared at him. "Definitely not, Babe. I am definitely not treating you as one of the guys. Besides, tell me honestly, does it make you more comfortable training with just me here, or would you prefer to have all the guys looking at you?"

"Truthfully? I would prefer not to have the guys here, but that is irrelevant. I have chosen to work in a company in which I am the only female. It is my problem if I am uncomfortable, not theirs. I am the interloper, not them. They should not be penalized."

"Out of everything you just said, the only part that was important was that you would prefer to train without all the men looking at you. We will continue to keep the gym closed while you are working out."

I took off my gun belt and top and placed them on a bench to the side of the mats. Ranger led me through the series of stretches as he loosened up my whole body. Then, we once again ran through the movements in slow motion for several self-defence holds. Finally, we finished the workout with the same series of stretches.

I went to Ranger's place for dinner. Ella had made beef stroganoff for dinner, and served it with a crusty loaf that was perfect for soaking up the gravy. Dinner was excellent. I did a lot of mopping to try to get every last bit that was on my plate. After dinner, I went down to my office to try to work through some of Sales' requests that had been generated while I was out of the office earlier that day. I was just finishing my third file when Ranger came to my door. "It's time for bed, Babe. The rest can wait until tomorrow."

"I can do it now. I'm not sleepy", I said as I yawned widely.

"I can tell that by your yawning", Ranger smiled. "Babe, you are so tired I am worried about you making it home tonight. It is not good to drive when you are so fatigued. Come up to bed."

I didn't argue. I was really tired. I shut down my computer, tidied my desk, turned off the lights, and locked the door for the night.

* * *

The next morning I slept through Ranger getting up for his workout. I slept through him returning to the apartment, making the coffee, and having his shower. It was only when he kissed me, coffee in hand, did I wake up. "Rise and shine, Babe. A new day has started."

"Morning", I mumbled as I sat up and reached for the coffee.

Ranger wrapped my hands around the mug. I gratefully took my first sip. It started the synapses firing. "Better?" asked Ranger, amused.

"Oh, yeah."

"What do you have planned for today?"

"After I have breakfast, shower and put on a clean uniform here, I will go to my apartment to look after Rex and change into non-uniform clothes. Then Lula and I are going to try to chase down Aphrodite Akuna. We are also taking another run at the Averys. I hope to be able to find them today to capture them. Lula said that there are a couple of new files at the office right now. She did the legwork on them for me and said that they were pretty straightforward. I hope to try to pick up those files as well. What about you?"

"I am offsite at a meeting this morning, then will be back in the office for the afternoon and will be available for training at four o'clock. Tank knows what is going on with the Avery files. If you need Rangeman before lunch, call Tank. After lunch, call me."

* * *

I beat Lula to the office and had time to check out the two new files. The first was for Vanessa Kelvin, a woman pulled over on a DUI charge. She said she was being responsible as she kept one eye closed when driving and she said that stopped her vision from going double.

The second file was for Oliver "Blaster" Owens. Using a scene that he saw on an action flick on TV, he tried to break through the security grating in a jewellery store using explosives. Unfortunately for him, the only explosives he could find were firecrackers. Also unfortunately for him, after he lit the firecracker, it fell over and shot the explosive at Blaster's legs. When the police arrested him shortly afterwards, they had to take him to the hospital for severe burns.

I don't know why, but sometimes when I read the files of some of our skips the theme song for the movie "Dumb and Dumber" runs through my mind.

I pulled out the other files from the other day to add to the line-up. There were four files and five skips to work on. It was going to be a busy day.

Lula came into the office. "Who do you want to go after first?" I asked.

"I'm tired. I had a late night with a honey last night and everything was great. Then he 'borrowed' my last fifty bucks from my wallet this morning while I was in the shower and left a note saying he would pay me back. So I called him to give him a piece of my mind, and I found out that the number he gave me was for a Chinese food restaurant. Can you believe it? It is amazing the kind of trash you can pick up these days. I don't want to turn into one of those suspicious types of people. I like to take people at face value. It is hard, however, when there are so many people out there who lie and cheat and steal. It is not right."

Lula paused, and I suspected I was supposed to say something. So I said "I agree."

"So let's go after the two dumb ones. I feel like whamming someone's butt, and the other three skips are too hard to find."

"Okay. Works for me."

We decided to go to see Blaster first. It was our experience those with a DUI charge were better captured after their hangover from the night before had worn off, and before they had started down the road of doing everything within their power to ensure they would have another hangover the following morning.

Blaster lived in an apartment building in North Trenton. It was a nice building. I was surprised. I didn't normally think of dumb thieves living in apartment buildings that had more amenities than mine.

We took the elevator to the sixth floor and walked down the hall to knock on Blaster's door. There was no answer. We knocked on Blaster's door again, louder this time. We finally heard a faint "come in".

We opened up the door. A galley kitchen was opposite the front entry way from the door, and to the right was a living room/dining room combination. A hall branched off from the living room and a bathroom and two bedrooms could be seen.

Blaster was sitting on the couch, one of his legs propped up on pillows, with bottles of pain relievers on the table beside him.

I went through my spiel. "Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum and this is Lula. We are here representing your bail bonds agent. You missed your court date and we are taking you into the precinct so you can reschedule."

"I don't understand why I need to go. Can't they just assign another court date to me and let me know?"

"I am sorry, but it doesn't work that way. You have to go back into the courts to reschedule."

"What happens if I give you a note, a proxy, which asks them to give me a new date and to send the answer back?"

"Absolutely nothing would happen. A proxy would not do as you personally need to get rescheduled again."

"I didn't forget, you know. I just wanted to stay home and rest my leg. It hurts a lot."

"I imagine it does. Do you have any sweatpants or anything you can put on?"

"Sure I do."

"Then get dressed so that we can go. The sooner we push you through the process, the sooner you can come back home to rest your leg."

"I need help getting dressed."

"What are you? Five? You can dress yourself."

"I need help getting up."

"You can get up yourself.

"Won't you do anything to help me get ready to go to the precinct?"

"Sure. I will drive you there."

With a lot of grimacing and loud complaints, Blaster got to his feet and limped off to the bedroom. He grabbed some clothes and limped to the bathroom. Then, with a lot of cussing and grumbling, he emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later.

I didn't bother cuffing him. Not only did I think he needed his arms for balance, I knew he did not have enough run in his legs to try to get away. We left the apartment soon after that.

On the way down to the car, I asked Blaster about the apartment. "How does a thief earn enough money to pay for an upscale apartment? When I think about where I live and look at where you live, there is no comparison. Your building has amenities I can only dream of. How do you do it?"

"My parents bought this apartment for me."

"That was nice of them. But if they bought you the apartment, why did you feel you had to steal jewellery?"

"I wasn't doing it for the money. I don't need money. My parents provide me with money. I was doing it to prove to my friends that it could be done. We had seen it in the movies and I thought it was possible but my friends thought it wasn't. So I was out to prove them wrong. I wasn't really going to steal anything."

"So you broke into a jewellery store not to steal anything but on a dare to prove some friends wrong? That's your defense?"

"Yes."

"Good luck with that one."

Yup, that theme song for "Dumb and Dumber" was just getting louder.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

I left Lula at the Tasty Pastry while I took Blaster into the police station. This served two purposes. It kept Lula away from the station, an action for which Lula was deeply thankful, and it gave Lula half an hour to contemplate the pastry case to decide which doughnuts she wanted to eat, thereby saving half an hour of my time, an action for which I was deeply thankful. When I got back from the station, she was still salivating over the doughnuts. "Which ones are you buying?" I asked.

"I think I will have a blueberry fritter, a boston cream, and a carrot cake. What are you getting?"

I surreptitiously slid my finger between my waistband and my waist. It was hard to wedge my finger in. "Nothing, thanks. I'll just get a coffee."

We got in the car and headed for Hamilton Township. Driving to the house listed on the bond agreement, we found the house in an enclave of expensive homes. We drove up the circular driveway and were met at the door by a housekeeper.

I explained who Lula and I were, and why we were there. "I can't wake Ms. Kelvin", the housekeeper said. "She isn't feeling well today."

"Tell her to take some acetaminophen. We'll wait."

The housekeeper clearly didn't know what she was supposed to do. "It isn't a big deal getting rescheduled", I said. "However, it is a big deal avoiding court. I am sure she just forgot to go, but not going will make her look bad. I know you would not want Ms. Kelvin to look bad."

Those were the magic words, because the housekeeper invited us into the house and went upstairs to wake her employer. Several minutes later she came back down. "She will be down momentarily."

Half an hour later I was wishing I had brought my coffee in with me. We were still standing in the entry. I had talked to the housekeeper several times, and she assured me that Ms. Kelvin would be down momentarily. I was getting angrier and angrier the longer that I waited until, finally, I insisted that the housekeeper take us to see Ms. Kelvin. She refused. I started up the steps anyway, brushing off the housekeeper's attempts to restrain me. Lula followed behind us, eager to see what I would do.

"You can't do that!" said the housekeeper. "This is illegal entering."

"Actually, it isn't. A fugitive apprehension agent is legally entitled to enter any dwelling they are reasonably sure that the fugitive is hiding in. You have already told us she is here. We just have to find her now."

Many of the doors in the upper hall were closed. I opened each one, calling out Ms. Kelvin's name. About three-quarters of the way down the hall I opened the door to a bedroom to see a lump under the covers. I walked over to the bed. There was a woman lying there asleep, a beauty mask over her eyes. I pulled out my file. Yup, the woman was Vanessa Kelvin.

"Maria, I told you repeatedly that I don't want to be disturbed. I have a bad headache and, I don't care if it is God himself, I am not coming down there."

"Well, I'm not God, but I am here to make sure you come down." Vanessa was startled and yanked the eye mask off her head. "Now, we can do this two ways. You can refuse to come with us, in which case I am authorized to stun you, cuff and shackle you, and carry you physically to the station to reschedule." That wasn't technically true. Stunning under any circumstance is frowned upon. But hey! I was angry. And Vanessa didn't know about the no stun rule. Besides, it was a rule that I frequently broke. "If I do this, you will be going to the station in whatever you wore to bed."

"I sleep in the nude."

"Makes no difference to me. You wouldn't be the first person I have brought in buck naked. The other option is for you to get up and get dressed, at which point I will cuff and shackle you to take you to the station. It is your choice. Whatever you choose, you are going into the station with me today."

Vanessa looked resentful. "It was just a DUI charge. What is the big deal? It's not like I actually hit anything."

"This time. You did not hit anything this time."

Her lower lip went out. "My husband will have the charges dropped faster than you can blink your eye."

"That's good for you. That hasn't happened yet, however, and until it does you need to go to court to reschedule."

"This is ridiculous. I will have your badge for this."

"Go right ahead and try, Ms. Kelvin. You can make your complaint while you are at the station today. So what will it be? Going in buck naked or getting dressed?"

"I'll get dressed."

I checked out the adjoining bathroom and saw there was a large window that would be easy to escape from. "Lula, please wait out here and supervise Ms. Kelvin as she gets ready for the day. I will supervise while she gets ready in the bathroom."

"I'm not going to the bathroom while you are in there with me!"

"Then I guess you aren't going to the bathroom. I will turn my back if that makes you feel any better."

"Not really."

"Too bad." While Lula watched Vanessa, I sorted through her closet for some suitable clothes. Bermuda shorts, a fitted t-shirt, and sandals. When I started going through her drawers looking for underwear, Vanessa started screeching at me, flying at me from the bed, a naked ball of rage. I batted her off and continued looking, finding a bag of weed and an empty mickey of Jack. "What's the big deal?" I asked. "It's just alcohol and pot. Even if I could charge you, which I cannot, the penalty for possession is fairly minor."

"You don't understand. My husband is a prominent lawyer in Trenton. That is why I didn't go to court in the first place. He will kill me if he finds out I have been arrested."

"Well, by not going to court you are now a wanted fugitive, and I think he will have a greater problem with that. That would be hard to explain to all his lawyering friends. Now, come on. I am sure you want to get your rescheduling over with." I held out her housecoat to her and followed her to the bathroom. We compromised – she could use the facilities in private as long as I could leave the door open with a view of the window. I then sat on the side of the tub while she took the longest shower in history, dried and styled her hair, and did her makeup. Then, when she could not stall any longer, she got dressed and ready to go.

"I am supposed to bring fugitives into the station cuffed and shackled. I trust you, however, and I will refrain from doing either of those things. Just know that, if you escape, I will hunt you down. To hunt you down, I will need to talk with your husband."

"Please don't speak to my husband. I'm begging you."

"Then don't try to escape." I loaded her into the backseat, waiting until she had put her seatbelt on.

"How is your hangover?" I asked.

"Bad. I would kill for a coffee."

"I'll drive through the coffee shop for you." I ordered a coffee each for Lula and Vanessa, and drove Lula to the bonds office. "Lula, would you mind asking Connie to come to the precinct to rebond out Vanessa? I don't think Vanessa will want to hang around the precinct longer than she has to, am I right?"

"Anything you can do to get me out of there fast would be appreciated. I don't want to take the chance that Gareth or any of his friends recognize me."

I dropped Lula off at the office and drove to the precinct. Escorting Vanessa into the docking area, I apologized and cuffed her to the bench. Then, getting my paperwork filled out, I left the precinct and walked outside.

I met Morelli as I walked to my car. "Hey, Cupcake, how are you doing? Do you have time for lunch?"

"A very short one. Drive through or sandwich shop short. I have brought two skips in today, and I have three more to go."

"Good for you. Who did you bring in?"

"A DUI and a thief. So where are we going?"

"How about Barry's Burgers?" We got in my car and, when I nodded my head to his suggestion of burger joint and started my car, he said "who do you have left?"

"A husband and wife team of human traffickers and an unlawful solemnization of weddings."

"Really? Unlawful solemnization of weddings? That's a new one."

"I have never heard of it before either. But just imagine. You finally get up the nerve to get married only to find out later that you were never married."

"I can see how that would be upsetting." We went through the drive through and each ordered a burger. Morelli ordered fries with his and a coke. I just ordered a water with mine.

Sitting with our lunch with the windows down in the car, I asked "so, what is new with you?"

"Not much. Work is same old, same old. Grandma Bella is still on the warpath for you. Angie and Anthony are expecting another in December. Mario and Theresa have split." Mario and Anthony were Joe's brothers. "How is your family?"

"Good. I suspect Valerie is pregnant again, although she has not admitted it yet. Grandma Mazur and Mom are still after me to get back together with you. Rex is good. Still hamster-y. Running on his wheel and going nowhere. Nothing really has changed."

"Dating Ranger yet?" It was like Morelli had a need to pull the band-aid off. Every time I spoke to him he asked me whether I was going out with Ranger yet. He was always pleased when I said no. I don't know if that made him hold out hope that we would get back together. I hoped not. But one thing is for sure, and that is that I would have to tell him soon. Trenton isn't that big a community, and now that Ranger and I were dating, someone would be sure to see us and get the news back to Morelli.

"We are spending a lot of time together", I said ambiguously. He looked at me for a minute, and I guess he then decided he didn't want to know any more. "How's Bob?"

"He has discovered a girl dog down the street and doesn't seem to realize that he has been neutered. Every time I let him out in the backyard he tunnels beneath the fence, and then beneath the neighbour's fence in order to get to the girl dog. She has not been spayed, so I guess that is the draw. I have never been as happy as I have been that he was neutered however. It has been just about impossible to keep him in the backyard. It doesn't seem to matter how often I fill the holes, he just digs more."

"He should have been named Randy instead of Bob." Morelli laughed.

"Unfortunately, I need to be getting back", I said. "It's been nice seeing you." I drove back to the station and dropped Joe off, then returned to the bonds office to pick up Lula for an afternoon of skip chasing.

* * *

Lula and I decided to go after Aphrodite Akuna first. We drove to her house and knocked on her doors. No one answered. We looked in her windows and could not see anything. No dirty dishes in the sink, no clean dishes on the drainage tray, no wrinkles in the toss pillows, nothing out of place anywhere. "What does that tell you?" asked Lula.

"That she is unnaturally neat and tidy."

"Or that she isn't staying there."

"Maybe. But we know she was in the area the other day. We just have to wait her out. She'll have to come out of hiding at some point soon. We just have to be there when she sticks her little head up."

"Yeah, then WHAM! That's how we get her done."

We went and knocked on the neighbours' doors, but only one lady was home, and she hadn't seen Aphrodite for a few days. "I think she is in Newark attending a conference on performing marriage rites. She said she would be away for a few days and that she was going to be leaving tomorrow, I think. I wasn't really listening to what she had to say. It was early in the morning and I am not a morning person." I empathized. I also was not a morning person. Of course, I'm not much of an afternoon person or an evening person either. And forget being a night owl. In matter of fact, the only time I was awake was when I had a coffee in my hand.

I thanked her for the information. "Do you know when she is scheduled to return?"

"Yes, she is supposed to come home late on Sunday. That one I am sure of. She said she has to go to work on Monday."

Lula and I walked back to the car. "Assuming the neighbour was telling the truth, there is no point in staking out Aphrodite's house. I think we should continue to do drive-bys over the next few days to see what we can see and in the interests of dotting our 'i's' and crossing our 't's', we should perhaps check her work, but otherwise we should wait until she shows up at work on Monday."

We got back in the car and went through a drive-through for a coffee shop. Lula ordered a large coffee and three doughnuts. I ordered a medium coffee.

We drove to the human traffickers to see if we could see anything. Although we waited over two hours sipping our coffees, the house was quiet. There were no sounds of dogs barking, no curtains twitching, no vehicular traffic.

Not wanting to be late for my training session with Ranger, we gave up the surveillance. I drove Lula back to the office. "All in all, not a bad day", I said. "Two more skips brought in, the creation of a game plan for catching Aphrodite, and only the two human traffickers still hanging in the wind."

"WHAM! That's how we get it done", said Lula.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen **

I left my purse in Ranger's office. Taking my gun, we walked down to the storeroom for bullets, then took the stairs down to the basement to the gun range. "Do I have to work on head shots again today?" I asked, crossing my fingers behind my back that Ranger had changed his mind about that.

"Yes. You got away with avoiding them yesterday, but today you have to do them."

Crap.

We put on our protective gear and Ranger cued up a target. Taking a deep breath, I started by aiming at the head. I hit many more head shots than I had the last time I had practiced. I shot a few more clips into the target, getting progressively better at hitting head shots.

Then Ranger reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he stapled a head shot of Berginni to the target. Ignoring my fast intake of breath, he sent the target down to the opposite end of the range. My head swam and I think I must have turned white, because when Ranger turned back to me he immediately led me to the bench and pushed my head between my legs, quietly instructing me to push up with my head against his hand. After a few moments, he helped me sit up. Assessing, he looked at my face and must have been satisfied that I was going to be all right. "It is just a piece of paper. But if he came at you again, you would need to be able to look after yourself. You need to be able to shoot him, and that starts with being able to shoot a piece of paper with his picture on it. You may not have the luxury of hesitating."

"I know. It's just that the picture makes it seem so real."

"That's the point. That's why you are using the picture. Not all your targets will have bulls-eyes printed on them."

He helped me stand up, and led me over to the targets. He took my gun from me and refilled the clip as I stood, looking at the target in a panic. Handing me my gun, he stood close by in support. I started shooting. The shots went wide and far. When I finished, Ranger didn't even bother exchanging the target. I had not hit the target enough to even justify the change. Quietly refilling the clip and handing my gun to me, he put his hand on my lower back. I felt the warmth of his support and it steadied my aim. I hit some on the actual target this time. Ranger refilled my clip, handed me the gun, and said "again". After a few more clips I was getting more shots on the body and even some shots on the bulls-eyes. However, I was also getting tired. When Ranger said "enough for today", I was thankful. I refilled my clip and put my gun in my holster as Ranger pulled the target up from the far wall. He took off the picture of Berginni, refolded and put it in his pocket, and put the remaining targets in the recycling bin. Still shaking, we left the range.

Waiting for the elevator, Ranger folded me into a hug. "I know you don't like it", he said, "but it's important."

"I know", I said, tears coming to my eyes. "That's why I gave in and did it. What I really wanted to do was to walk out." I hid my face in his shoulder. He kissed my head and smoothed my curls out of his face with one hand while he held me tightly with the other.

"Now, we only have time for a short workout today. Dinner will be soon. Let's do a small stretching segment, maybe ten minutes, followed by a half hour workout, followed by another ten minutes of stretching. You have healed enough now that we can do a full workout."

"My day just keeps getting better and better."

He smiled. "It will. If you stay for dinner, I will give you a massage afterwards."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

I woke up when Ranger's watch alarm went off. I snuggled into his body, murmuring a complaint as he moved out of reach. "Go back to sleep, Babe."

"Did I fall asleep again here?"

"Sometime when I was massaging your lower back." He finished extricating himself from the bed and tucked the blankets back in around me. "I didn't want to wake you."

"Thanks."

He finished in the bathroom, then came out and said "I'm going to do a workout. I'll see you in a while." With a last kiss, he left the apartment.

I could not go back to sleep. I tossed and turned for a few minutes before giving up. I got up and had a quick shower, dried my hair, got dressed in one of my uniforms and applied my makeup for the day, then went on Ranger's computer and found a picture of the trafficker. I printed off a close-up view of his face. Putting on my gun, I took the elevator down to the storeroom on the fifth floor. Grabbing a box of bullets, I went down to the gun range. I attached the picture of Avery, then sent the body target back to the far wall. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and thought about the unfairness of what Avery was doing. I thought about the poor women who were trapped, basically as slaves, having nowhere to turn for help. And I thought about how Avery was stealing, not of objects but of livelihoods and of basic humanity. Then I took another deep breath and, opening my eyes, I shot a clip into the far end. I refilled the clip and again shot another seventeen bullets into the far end. I repeated it three more times before I brought the target up. At least half of the shots made it into the inner rings of the chest and some had made it into the bulls-eyes. I had avoided shooting at the head.

I put up a clean target, attached Avery's face again, and sent the target down to the end. Taking another deep breath, I tried for head shots. I shot four more clips into the target before Ranger came into the range. I put down my gun and refilled my clip while he brought up the target.

"You did well, Babe." He looked at the target. I looked over his arm and saw that half of my shots made it somewhere into the black centre, while the majority of other shots made it somewhere into the rest of the rings. "Do you want to keep that one?"

"No. I just needed the practice."

I put my gun in my holster and we put away our protective gear. We walked out of the range, Ranger's arm draped around my shoulders. "You scared me, Babe. I didn't know where you were."

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I kept seeing the one cleaner who fell getting out of the back of the truck. Avery kicked and hit her for falling. It made me angry at the time, and it still makes me angry to think of it. And then I started wondering whether I would be able to shoot him if I was in a position in which I had to. I worried that I would not be able to, that I would hesitate. That could be bad. The more I lay there, the more I worried. So I just got up and got ready for the day. I didn't mean to scare you. I should have left a note on the kitchen counter, I guess."

"It's okay. I didn't get concerned until I went down to your office and you weren't there."

"How did you find me?" I asked as we walked onto the elevator. Ranger pressed the number for the seventh floor.

"I tracked your watch and found out you were still in the building. Then I checked the feed until I found you."

* * *

"What are you doing today?" asked Ranger after we finished eating our breakfast. I think Ranger was still feeling insecure after not being able to find me, because he had pulled me onto his lap while he drank his coffee.

I gave him a kiss. "Similar day to what I had yesterday, although I hope that I will have more luck in finding Aphrodite and the Averys. My goal is to capture them today. And there is the pizza party at lunch today. What about you?"

"I have a telephone meeting with a potential client first thing, then I am at my desk for the rest of the day. I am available for some time in the gym at four if you are up to it."

"It's a date", and giving Ranger a light kiss, I got off his lap and went to finish up in the bathroom for the day.

* * *

"Ranger is driving me nuts", I said to Lula as we were on our way to Hamilton Township to check out Aphrodite's home.

"What is he doing?"

"Every time I leave his sight he gets antsy. The last time, when Berginni kidnapped me, seemed to make an impression on him. I went down to the gun range this morning while he was having a workout and, when he got back and could not find me, he started checking all the security feeds to find out where I was. I don't know what he was worried about happening to me. I was in the Batcave, and there is no risk to me there. But he told me that I scared him."

"Maybe he was afraid that you had left without saying goodbye."

"I don't know. And then, every morning, he wants me to tell him what I am going to be doing during the day."

"Maybe he is just interested."

"Maybe. But I think it is a little more than that. I think I honestly scared him and he is not used to being scared. He is used to treating fear as an unproductive emotion and ignoring it, not giving into it. I am not sure why he is giving into it now."

"Maybe you just matter to him more than anyone else."

"Maybe." That was something to think about.

* * *

We arrived at Aphrodite's house and parked a couple of houses down the street. I phoned her home phone number listed on the bond agreement. The number was out of service. I phoned the cell number listed on her business card that she had given to me, but was unable to make contact. I didn't leave a message.

Noticing that we were near her work address, I phoned her work. She worked for a wedding planner as a sales consultant. The office said she would be out of the office until Monday, but it sounded like they were being coached on the other end. I gave my contact number and explained why I was calling, and told them I would drop by with my business card.

The call felt a bit off to me. Not trusting the receptionist's word, Lula and I went to the wedding planner's offices. I again asked for Aphrodite. The receptionist said "just a minute" and walked away. She walked back a few minutes later and said that Aphrodite was unavailable. "Does that mean she is out?" asked Lula as she sat down on the couch and opened up a magazine. "Because I can wait all day here. I haven't read this here magazine yet, and I read verr-y slow-ly. I often sound out the words using my outside voice."

"It means that she is out and will not be back until Monday."

"Re-al-ly", Lula said, carefully pronouncing each syllable. She opened up the magazine and, reading slowly out loud, her finger marking her place on the page as she read, she proceeded to pretend to read an article on a scam pulled off by one particular wedding planning company.

Trying not to laugh, I pulled Lula to her feet. "Come on", I said. "That is enough reading practice for today. We will wait for these good people to call when Aphrodite shows up, as they know they will be harbouring a fugitive if they do not. And although Aphrodite's charge is minor and will likely just result in community hours, the courts are not always so lenient for those who harbour criminals. I asked them to call me when they heard from Aphrodite. They promised they would." As we left I glanced back to see the receptionist frantically searching through the magazine for the article that Lula had just "read".

* * *

"We struck out, but I still think they know something and I suspect that Aphrodite was actually there. I just don't have enough evidence of that to perform an office-wide search", I said to Lula. "Want to go after the traffickers?"

When Lula agreed, we did a drive through of a doughnut shop to pick up our standard surveillance fare – a dozen assorted doughnuts and a couple of small coffees.

I drove to the traffickers' house, parking a couple of houses down and across the street and set up our surveillance food. There was no activity at the house. I used my binoculars to look at the windows. I saw a curtain twitch, but could not see any further activity. I phoned the home phone listed on the bond agreement, but no one answered the phone.

Lula and I watched the house for two hours before our bums started to go numb. Just as we were about to leave, a Trenton Police squad car showed up behind us. Thomas Nilchinni and Andrea Antone were in the car. Lula started to get antsy beside me.

"Hey, Steph", said Andrea, walking up to my car. "You are getting all the neighbours excited. One of them has phoned in a complaint about you being here. Who are you staking out?"

"Hey, Andrea." Andrea and I go way back, well into childhood days. A few years older than Andrea, I used to babysit both her and her sister periodically. "Do you two want a doughnut?" I handed out the box to them. There were four doughnuts left.

"You still have doughnuts left? You mustn't have been here long."

"A couple of hours. I'm trying to cut back on my doughnut intake. I am stopping at three now." Andrea and Thomas each took a doughnut and handed the box back to me. "I have a couple of skips that are outstanding. That is their house there. I won't be doing the takedown myself. I am just doing the legwork and Rangeman will be doing the takedown. I have to find them, however. I found one of them the day before yesterday and I think the other one is currently in the house. But I don't want to go in until I know for sure. I already tipped them off the day before yesterday when I was chasing them. I don't want to tip them off again today."

"What are they up for?"

"Human trafficking and, from what I could see the day before yesterday, they are still taking advantage of those poor women that they brought into the States illegally." I showed Andrea my Right to Apprehend papers.

"There is more than one?"

"Yes. It is a husband and wife team. I feel like Sylvester the Cat when I say this, but they really are despicable."

"Okay, I will talk to the neighbour."

"Tell them that I will likely be back, but I may drive one of Rangeman's fleet cars. I might have been made. I think there is someone in the house, but they are pretending they aren't there."

"Why do you think that?"

"Every now and then I see the curtain twitch. But I do not see anybody, and nobody is picking up the phone."

"Did you try knocking on the door?"

"No. I promised Ranger that Lula and I would not make contact until we had the Rangeman team behind us. And I am not sure enough that the Averys are in there to call in the team. It could be anybody in the house."

"Okay. We will talk to the neighbour and let them know we have talked to you and that you are here on court business. I know you are calling in the Rangeman team, but if you need more backup let us know. We are in the area. Actually, instead, would you like to come with us to talk to the neighbour? You could give them your card and ask them to call you when they notice your skips have come home."

"Thank you." I got out of the car and walked with Andrea and Thomas up to the neighbour's house. I left Lula in the car. There is no point in upsetting her unduly and I thought she might appreciate the breather by being away from the cops for a few minutes.

There was an old woman standing at the door when we got there. "Ma'am, I am Officer Antone, this is Officer Nilchinni, and this is Stephanie Plum. Stephanie is a fugitive apprehension agent and she is interested in your neighbours across the street. Steph?" she said, handing the conversation over to me.

"Your neighbours were supposed to appear in court on human trafficking charges. They failed to show up. As a representative of their bonds office, I have been asked to find them and return them to the courts before they can import any more slaves. I have been staking out their house in an effort to find them. Do you keep track of their movements? Do you know a good time that I would be able to find the two of them at home?"

"They often are out driving their staff around, at all times throughout the day and night. Most of their staff – if not all of their employees – live with them. I always thought it was really nice of them to offer their home up to their staff that way."

"They do that so they can justify not paying their staff and to keep their staff segregated from anyone who could help them. Slavery was abolished in the US almost one hundred and fifty years ago, but those women who work for them are amongst the most disadvantaged in our society, basically just slaves."

"They always seemed like such nice people."

"I have heard the same said about many serial killers. I will give you my business card. Would you mind calling me when you see the two of them at home? I would like to catch them sooner rather than later, before they prey on more innocents."

"I will."

"Society thanks you. Also, just so that you know, I will be staking out their house off and on until they are caught. I will not always be driving the car I am driving now, so don't worry if you see another car waiting at the side of the road."

"Thank you for letting me know. I will call if I think they are going to be there for a period of time."

Andrea, Thomas and I turned around and went back to my car. "Are you staying here for a while, or will you take off now that you have a snitch?" asked Andrea.

"I think I will take off. Lula and I have another skip to try for before lunch, and then I have some work at Rangeman to do this afternoon." I said goodbye to Andrea and Thomas, and got in the car. "We have a snitch", I said to Lula. "She is going to call my cell when she sees her neighbours and thinks they will be staying at home for a little bit. Let's hit a bathroom, then go off to see if Aphrodite is at home yet."

We drove to the nearest coffee shop, using the facilities and each buying small coffees. We then headed to Aphrodite's. When we got there, we phoned Aphrodite's cell phone. It again went to voice mail. There were no cars outside her house and there were no garages to store her car in. We did not believe that she was there, but walked up to her front door and rang the doorbell anyway. There was no sound of pets barking, no curtains twitching, no footsteps across the floor, no indication whatsoever that there was anyone in the house.

"That's it", I said. "I have work at Rangeman to do and at this point I do not think it makes sense to stake out the house. The bond is too low a value for us to do so yet, especially since we know that she is due back at work at the beginning of next week. Today is Friday, so that is only three days away. Why don't I drop you off at the office and I go to Rangeman, and we can pick up surveillance on the traffickers again tomorrow? I have a pizza party to attend."

"Pizza? I like pizza." Lula sounded hopeful. I am not sure if it was the thought of free pizza, or the thought that she might actually get to see inside the Rangeman facility. That was something I would not do, however. Letting Lula loose in the Rangeman facility would be like letting a cat loose in a flock of pigeons. The men's feathers would be all ruffled and they would likely never be the same again.

"I'm sorry, but this is a solo party. It is a long story, but I am the guest of honour and it is to celebrate the fact that Ranger has hired a female, and to show them that I can belch and fart with the best of them."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

We got back into the car as I received a phone call from the Averys' neighbour. "They are there right now and it looks like they are getting ready to leave for a long time. They are packing suitcases into the truck."

"We will have a whole team of people there as soon as possible. Thank you for letting me know."

I hung up with her and called Ranger. "The traffickers' neighbour called. She said the Averys are going on a trip. They are packing a number of suitcases into a truck and are getting ready to leave. Any chance Rangeman can join the party?"

"Are you on your way there now?"

"Yes, I am. We should be there in five minutes."

"Wait for us before you go in. We'll be there in ten."

I gave him the address, then sped with Lula towards the Avery house. We arrived, parking two houses down the street, again with a good view of the house. The truck was still there, the back open, several suitcases loaded inside.

Lula and I sat for a minute or two, attention focused on the truck in front of us. The woman came out with another suitcase and packed it into the truck. There was no sign of the man. There was also no sign of the South American women. I guessed they were all at work. I wondered whether the Averys were planning on picking up the women or whether, in their attempt to flee from their charges, they were abandoning the women at their cleaning jobs.

Suddenly, through the open car window, I felt the muzzle of a gun pressed into my temple. "What?" I said. I turned and looked, seeing Blake Avery holding a gun to my head. Lula turned at my exclamation and her face went pale.

"Get out of the car, nice and slow. And then walk over to the truck. Tell me who you are on the way."

"You can't do that", said Lula. "She's entitled to find you. It was in your signed bond agree…" Just as Lula was finishing her sentence Lucille Avery reached in the car with a stun gun and zapped her. Lula went inert, slumped into her car seat.

"I saw you following me the other day. Who are you? Police? FBI? CIA?"

"Nothing that exotic. You signed a bond agreement with Vincent Plum Bail Bonds office. You missed your court date and I have come to take you into court to get your date rescheduled." He motioned for me to get out of the car. "No", I said. He moved his gun slightly to the side and shot the front windshield of my car. "Are you nuts?" I yelled out. "I have only had this car for two months."

"Give it up. It's an old car. The next shot will be for you if you don't get out." I hesitated. "Or, should I shoot your lovely companion?" He moved his gun so that it was aimed at Lula.

"What do you want with me?" I asked as I got out of the car. Blake motioned with his gun that I was supposed to walk towards the house. His wife walked in front of us.

"My wife and I are relocating to Canada to resume our operations. You will be our insurance policy. We will keep you as a hostage in case we have any problems getting across the border."

"What will you do with me when you get to Canada?"

"You will have served your purpose. We are kind people. We will buy you a ticket to send you home again."

I heard what they said, but I suspected I was not going to be given a ticket to come home again. I suspected the only place I was going to be given a ticket to would be the cemetery.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw three Rangeman vehicles drive down the street, stopping on the other side of the road near the base of the Avery driveway. Seconds later Ranger came roaring up in his Porsche Turbo. I heard the distinctive sound of his car as Avery walked me around the truck and into the house. Blake and his wife had not yet figured out that the Rangeman staff were there. I hoped that was a good thing.

Keeping them talking, I asked them "how will you get me into Canada? I don't have my passport on me." Lucille excused herself and went upstairs to finish the packing.

"We have a compartment underneath the truck. We have a driver coming here. He will drive us into Canada. When we are nearing the border, Lucille, you and I will get into the compartment underneath the truck. It will be a little squishy in there with three of us, but it should get us across the border safely. We will only need to be in the undercarriage compartment for half an hour to an hour."

"I am claustrophobic. I start to scream if I am in small spaces."

"I will stun you before we get in. Then you will be quiet."

"You have this all figured out. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as the driver gets here."

"Is the driver getting here soon?"

"He should be here in about half an hour."

"Does he know he is smuggling you into Canada?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ranger and his team surround the house. When everybody was in position, I saw Ranger put his gun back into his holster and come up to the door of the house.

"Yes. He is one of our primary drivers for our current smuggling operation. He also will be leaving with us and moving to Canada."

"Don't you need to get working visas or something to move to Canada?"

"We have lived outside the law here in Trenton for a long time. Do you think we cannot do the same thing and run our business out of Canada?"

"Are your girls going as well?" I didn't know what Ranger had planned, but I knew that the more I could keep Avery talking, the greater the chance he would not realize that Ranger was there until Ranger wanted him to know.

"No, they can keep their cleaning contracts. They can also have the house."

"Do they know you won't be picking them up tonight?"

"They will figure it out soon enough." There was a knock at the door. "Lucille!" he called. "Get the door!"

"I'm busy!" she called back. "You get the door!"

There was another knock at the door. Blake motioned for me to walk in front of him. I could feel the tip of his gun pointed at me. "Answer the door", he whispered in my ear.

I opened the door to see Ranger standing there. The Rangeman cars had mysteriously disappeared, and Ranger's car was parked behind mine. He glanced at me, then at Blake, then at the two of us. "I am sorry to bother you, but I parked my car behind that black car over there, and the car is leaking fluids all over the pavement. One of the neighbours said the owner of the car is in here?"

"I own the car", I said as I felt the gun jab me in warning.

"If you want, I know something about cars and I could look at it with you to determine what a mechanic needs to do to fix it."

"Thank you", I took one step forward before being pulled back by my ponytail. Blake's arm slipped around my neck into choking position, and his gun hand became visible momentarily as he repositioned the gun at my back.

"You aren't going anywhere", growled Blake in my ear. Looking at Ranger, he said "I will take care of her car. Thank you for letting us know. But my honey and I", and he kissed my temple and a shudder ripped through me, "are going upstairs right now, if you catch my drift." He walked backwards out of the doorframe.

I figured that I wouldn't get any better chance. I went limp in Blake's arms. The sudden dead weight surprised Blake. As I sank down towards the floor so that only his arm around my neck was holding me up, Blake's attention was diverted from Ranger to me, and his gun hand was jostled so that it was no longer aimed at me. Ranger whipped out his gun and stepped forward, pointing his gun at Blake's head.

Deadly quiet, Ranger said "you wouldn't be the first person I have shot and you should know that I always go for the kill shot. Now, let Stephanie go and put your hands in the air, nice and slow."

Blake hesitated, clearly undecided as to whether it would be better to take a stand or to give in.

"Miguel, is it all locked up nice and tight upstairs?"

"Yes, boss. The old lady is waiting for transport to the station."

"Thank you. Blake here is having problems letting Stephanie go. I don't blame him, but I think he needs a little help. Could you please disarm him and cuff him? Gun is in his right hand."

Miguel came around Blake and reached for the gun as Blake started to struggle. As soon as I felt the gun move away from me, I elbowed him in the solar plexus and stomped down hard on his instep. As he bent over double, Miguel removed the gun and cuffed him. "Good one, Steph", said Miguel as he led Blake from the doorstep over to an SUV which had magically reappeared. The car waited at the end of the driveway. Another SUV drove in behind it, ready for Lucille.

"Eduardo?" called out Ranger. "It's clear down here. You can bring down the woman now." He gathered me into a hug, and kissed the top of my head as I buried my face into his shoulder, smelling the scent of Bulgari Green. "You okay, Babe?"

"Yes. I'm safe. How's Lula?"

"She's fine. I left Hal in the car with her."

"Thank you. He shot my car!"

"I know. And for a brief millisecond I thought you had been shot, too. It was not a good millisecond."

"It's not fair. I went a whole two months without anything bad happening to it – as long as you don't count the carjackings. I was on a roll."

Ranger smiled, then gave me another kiss before stepping aside to let Eduardo and Lucille to walk past. "A whole two months!"

"Scoff all you want, but I think that must have been some sort of record for me."

"I don't think this one counts. Your car hasn't been incapacitated. Just damaged. And it is damage that is quite easy to repair. I know it doesn't count in the guys' pool. I don't know if it counts in the bail bond office's pool."

"I had better give a report to the neighbour and a thank you for calling us", I said. I started towards the neighbour's house, closely followed by Ranger.

I knocked on the neighbour's door. "I watched the whole thing from the window", she said as she answered the door. "It was pretty scary when they took you into the house and I was just about to call the police when all the men in black showed up. Did I do the right thing by not calling?"

"It was neither here nor there. The men in black are good at their job."

"And when I saw your man there walk up to the door, as easy as you please, I didn't know what would happen."

"Neither did we", I said with a smile.

"Isn't that something. We have a neighbourhood watch meeting tonight and I am going to have such a great story for everyone. Where did you say you were taking the Averys?"

"They will be taken to jail. I am not sure if they are going to be transported by the Rangeman team or the police. The police have been called and should be here any minute."

"Will they stay in jail?"

"I don't know. They may get released on a bond again, but I doubt it considering we caught them as they were preparing to flee the country."

"Wow! I have so much to tell tonight."

I could hear the police coming down the street. "The police are here now, and we need to give our statements. They may want a statement from you as well. Thank you for your help today."

Thomas Nilchinni and Andrea Antone were the first responders, followed closely by Morelli. "Getting into trouble again, Cupcake?" Morelli said as he jogged over to Ranger and me. He reached us and pulled me into a hug. He gave me a kiss on the head and held me tight for a minute or two, murmuring "you're safe". Then, pulling away, he turned all cop again and said "tell me what happened."

So I told Morelli about the crime that they were originally arrested for, the surveillance and the car chase, the help offered by the neighbour. As I mentioned the neighbour, Morelli, Ranger and I looked up at the neighbour's house. The neighbour was still standing at the doorway. She waved to us when she saw us looking at her. I waved back.

I then told him of coming to the house and seeing the Averys getting ready to leave. I told him of the gunshot to my car – "and I've only had this car for two months!" – at which point Morelli smiled. "Cheer up. I don't think this counts as an incapacitation for the police pool."

"The police have a pool as well?"

"Hell, yeah. When you are knee deep in drug dealers, murders and human traffickers, it is nice to have something fun to do."

Great.

"Did you place a bet?" I asked suspiciously.

"No. I'm not stupid." He smiled. "I know that you never do what I expect. So what happened next?"

I told him about getting taken at gunpoint into the house and how Avery told me that he was taking me to Canada as insurance to help him get across the border. Morelli turned white at that, and Ranger turned very still. I stopped for a second, primarily to give the guys a couple of seconds to get control of themselves. Morelli put his hand on my back and rubbed up and down my spine, reassuring himself that I was all right.

I then continued the story. I told of the Rangeman team arriving, and Ranger coming to the door. I told of what was said, my fake fainting spell, and the takedown that ensued. Then I told him about the two skips sitting separated in the two cars and the driver that was due to arrive any minute.

"Get rid of the cars, everyone", yelled out Morelli. "We have a potential third person scheduled to show up soon."

Immediately, everyone sprang to attention and moved the cars. The two squad cars were moved a block down the street, Morelli moved his car behind Ranger's, and the Rangeman team moved their cars a block up the street. Morelli, Ranger and I stood in the shade of a tree near our cars. Morelli inspected the damage to my car as we waited for the driver to show up. "How did this happen again?" Morelli asked.

"I was waiting for Rangeman to show up, doing surveillance with Lula, when I felt a gun pressed into my head through the open window. I turned to look, and it was Blake Avery. Lula turned to look and we complained. Lucille Avery popped up beside Lula and stunned her. I complained and Blake said that I needed to get out of car. I refused. He shot the windshield and said the next shot would be at Lula if I did not get out of the car. He looked crazy enough to do it, so I got out of the car. I was then taken at gunpoint into the house, and the rest you know."

Morelli then turned to Ranger, and asked him for his version of the story. Ranger told him about arriving and seeing the shot in the car. Lula was just coming to and was frantic that she could not see me. He told Morelli about sending Ramon and Manuel to guard the back door, Eduardo and Miguel to climb in an upper window, Hal to sit with Lula, and Hector to guard their truck. He then talked about knocking on the door and how he found me. "He had Stephanie in front of him, and she was obviously being held against her will. When I got her agreement to come away with me, he grabbed her by the neck and I was able to see he had a gun when he readjusted it. Then he started walking backwards, pulling Stephanie by the neck. She pretended to faint, and the sudden off-balance of weight gave me a chance to train a gun on him. By the time he recovered from her ploy, she had disabled him and Miguel was there to disarm him. If it were not for Stephanie's quick thinking, this could have had a completely different ending to the story."

A taxicab drove up to the Avery house and an older gentleman, stooped in shoulder and gray in hair, got out with his luggage. He paid the driver and brought his luggage up to the open truck. He loaded in his suitcases, then turned to walk towards the front door of the house. Hal materialized beside the man and pretended to be an alternate driver, trying to capture some incriminating evidence. "What are you doing putting your stuff on the truck?" he said. "Only the Avery suitcases and my suitcase are supposed to go on the truck. I didn't agree to drive anyone other than the Averys over the border."

Nilchinni and Antone were standing within listening distance, but out of sight, and could hear the driver respond with "you aren't driving them over the border. I am always the driver. I have driven more immigrants over the border in the past year alone then you have driven over the border in your lifetime. I am scheduled to take the Averys into Canada, and I am going with them. You need to step aside, son." He pulled out a gun and started to aim it at Hal.

With lightning speed, Hal reached out and grabbed the driver's gun arm, squeezed hard and twisted until the man dropped the gun. He then spun the man around and pressed his face into the side of the truck and cuffed him. It happened so fast that the man hardly knew what was happening until it was over. "Threat neutralized", called out Hal as Antone and Nilchinni came out of hiding to help and we walked over to join them.

"We can take his statement at the precinct. Antone and Nilchinni, you take the driver in and book him on human trafficking charges." Turning to Ranger, Morelli said "if you can spare the Rangeman staff, would they mind taking the Averys in?"

"No problem."

"I will stay here and do my cop stuff. I want to talk to the neighbour. Who is taking Lula back to the bonds office?"

"I have three staff cars here. Hector can take Lula, Miguel and Eduardo can take Lucille Avery, and Ramon and Manuel can take Blake Avery. Hal can drive Stephanie's car to the auto glass place to get her windshield replaced. Miguel and Eduardo can take Stephanie's body receipt in to Vinnie's after dropping off the Averys, then pick up Hal on the way back to Rangeman. If you don't need us, I will take Stephanie back to the office. We have a pizza party to go to."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

I got a text on the way back to the office. It was from Connie. _"Congrats on the Averys. Now you just have Akuna, and I have another two for you to chase. Their files are here in the office. I will get Lula to text the details to you this afternoon."_

I wrote back _"Thanks. Payment for the Averys should be split sixty percent to Rangeman, ten percent to Lula and the remainder to me. I look forward to hearing details of the other files. Eduardo and Miguel are bringing in the receipts."_

"Are you ready for the pizza party?" asked Ranger.

"As ready as I will ever be. It still seems odd to me that the guys all get so excited about having a girl in the building. Do you purposely hire people who have no social life?"

"Remember when I said that half my guys were hired out of the military?"

"Yes."

"The Sales guys aren't included. They are hired for their ability to sell. They might have been hired from a used car lot, or they might have been hired from a kiosk in a mall selling cell phones or from a place selling timeshares. Wherever they were hired from, they impressed Andy with their ability to sell. They weren't hired for their social lives."

"Wouldn't they make more effective salespeople if they could relate to women better? After all, women make up approximately half the potential clients out there."

"True, and that is why we are going to start to train them to treat women better, starting with you. Feel free to knee them in the crotch if they crowd you out, and feel free to be nice if that is what you would like to do. But no matter what, do not let them get away with anything. They need to learn what behaviour is acceptable and what is not."

"That is a tall order."

"I know. But they need to see women as people, rather than as prizes or objects."

Ranger drove into the underground parking lot. He looked at his watch. "Pizza is supposed to arrive in about ten minutes. I just want to talk to the monitoring staff for a moment before we go down to the conference room." We went upstairs to the fifth floor. As we walked into the control room, the monitoring staff started clapping.

"Good going, guys! Another successful takedown by Rangeman", said Calvin.

"The way I heard it," said Raphael, "Steph's fast thinking and fake fainting made a huge difference in how that takedown went."

"That helped", I said, "but it was really Ranger's approach on the house that caused the takedown to go so smoothly."

"Don't sell yourself short, Babe. If you hadn't collapsed or beaten up Avery when you did, things would have turned out quite a bit differently."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I excused myself to go lock my purse in my office. Ranger stayed back to talk with the team and to thank them for their part in the takedown.

* * *

"Ready, Babe?" asked Ranger as we walked towards the conference room.

"Ready as I will ever be", I said. I could hear the buzz of conversation grow as we walked towards the room. The conversation ceased when Ranger and I walked in. "Hi", I said uncomfortably as the men all looked at me. "I notice the pizza is here. Did anyone take any up to the guys on the monitoring stations?" I said, looking at the men in the room.

"No, but I will", volunteered Sven.

"Thank you, Sven", I said, smiling at him. He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes for a minute, then looked at Ranger. He flushed bright red and looked away. "I don't know what kind you ordered, but if you could send up a cheese pizza or vegetarian pizza that would be preferable since Raphael is vegetarian."

"You know Raphael is vegetarian? Have you gone out with him?" asked another of the Sales guys. I didn't know his name.

"Heavens, no. I generally think of the Rangeman staff as my brothers and I don't go out with my brothers. It's like the Sales staff. You are also my brothers and I will never go out with you. But when you work with people you learn things about them and I have learned that Raphael is vegetarian."

Ramon and Manuel came into the room. "We haven't missed the pizza yet, have we?" They saw me and came over to me, giving me a high five. "Good one today, Steph. I was out the back and missed the fun, but I heard from Miguel what a good job you did fighting off that bastard. And we caught them red-handed. Kind of makes up for losing them the other day, doesn't it?" said Ramon.

"That's true. And the other day we would have only caught one. Today was a two-for-one special", I said.

"Eduardo and Miguel are taking in your body receipt and picking up your cheque. They should be here in about ten minutes."

"Perfect. I need to tease them about their Spiderman-like abilities to climb up houses and into upper windows. How did they do that, anyway?"

"It's like I told you, Babe. My guys have skills."

"Are we going to eat pizza? Or are we waiting for Eduardo, Miguel and Hal?"

"Let's eat", said Ranger.

I took a slice of deluxe. "Lula heard that we were having a pizza party and wanted to crash. I had to do some fast talking to ensure she didn't show up."

"Who's Lula?" asked another one of the guys from Sales.

"I work two jobs. The one here at Rangeman and another as a bounty hunter for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds."

"That is so hot", said a different guy from Sales.

"It really isn't. It is a lot of boring surveillance work and knocking on doors. Lula is someone I often work with when I go skip chasing. She has a loud personality and is a tonne of fun, but she is not subtle and releasing her in the Rangeman office would be like letting the hounds loose. She would particularly want to see the bedrooms of all the men. Especially Ranger's. And his closet."

"Thanks, but I don't want to have her checking out what kind of underwear I wear", said Ranger. My face turned red. That is exactly what I did the first time I camped out in Ranger's apartment. At the time, he didn't wear any. Since I started staying over he has started wearing underwear. I can't say that I liked the switch in clothing choices. "Babe?" asked Ranger. "You looked kind of peculiar there."

"I'm good", I said, bouncing back mentally. "I just went somewhere in my head for a moment."

"Where did you go?"

"That is one of those secrets that a woman should get to have."

Ranger looked at me, his eyes dilating black, then he draped his arm over my shoulder and said "do you know everybody here?" as he took me around and introduced all the guys.

Dave brought up the elephant in the room. "I heard you were engaged to Adam after a very whirlwind courtship, and then he was fired and we heard it was for sexual harassment. What happened to your engagement?"

I could feel Ranger gearing up to say something. I put my hand on his arm to still him, then explained "I only met Adam about five times, most of which were in passing, over a period of less than a week. In total I spent less than half an hour with him. I think I have said more to you today than I said to Adam the whole time I knew him. He was convinced that he loved me, despite not even knowing me, and he was convinced that I loved him, despite the fact that I didn't even know his last name."

"So you didn't have a plan to elope with him?" asked Dave.

"A handful of meetings does not make a relationship. For a true romantic relationship, you have to know all about the person – their hopes, their dreams, their innermost feelings and thoughts, all the things they keep secret from others. We didn't have any of that. Nor did I want any of that with him. There was no relationship at all with him, let alone an engagement. I wasn't planning on going anywhere with him, let alone eloping with him. Whatever he told you was the result of something he created in his own mind, not reality."

"I can see why he was fired for sexual harassment", said Emilio.

"I know, and charged for it as well. Originally he wasn't being formally charged for harassment, just warned and fired, but he did not know when to stop. He just kept continuing to harass me, even after he was let go for it. I hope that no one here will ever have to go through that sort of harassment. It makes you feel icky. Just think how you would have reacted if it had been your sister, your cousin, your girlfriend having to deal with it."

"I thought it was too good to be true", said Dave.

"Too unrealistic, anyway."

"Are you talking about that idiot Adam?" asked Hal, coming in the door.

"He was messing with our chica", said Eduardo, coming in with Miguel.

"Is he bothering you again?" asked Hal. "Because I would be happy to straighten him out for you."

"Thanks, Hal. But he has stayed away from me since being charged with harassment. I think Morelli finally got through to him."

"Either that or he is planning on skipping bail, and having you and Lula come after him", said Miguel.

"That would be one file I would have to hand over to Rangeman. Initiating contact with him would go against the restraining order I have against him." I helped myself to another slice of deluxe. Ranger reached over and snagged both of us a bottle of water. I thanked him with a smile.

"Are you seeing anyone then?" asked Sven.

"Yes, I am." Hal and Eduardo exchanged smiles, and Miguel, Manuel and Ramon looked so pleased I thought they were going to do high fives. I looked at Ranger and saw him looking at me with one of his half-smiles on his face. I struggled not to laugh.

"What about all of you? You must have girlfriends or wives", I said. And with that comment I found out that two men were in dying relationships, Andy and Emilio were married, three had committed girlfriends, and the rest of the guys were in no relationships. I asked about schooling and family life and pets. Two hours later the party was continuing and the atmosphere was easy. "I hate to break up the party", I said, "but I think I have some files from Sales to research." Everyone laughed and got to their feet, cleaned up the empty pizza boxes and empty cans and bottles, and went on their way.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

While I was in the party Lula sent me the names of the two new files. The first, Henry Parker, walked home from his friend's home extremely intoxicated. He needed to take a leak and, despite that it was mid-morning, and despite that it was Sunday, he decided that it would be a good idea to urinate all over the base of the sign at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He was arrested with thirty eyewitnesses attesting to what had happened. He was released on a low bond.

The second arrest was for Caleb Landon. He was a peeping tom who was caught in the Burg. He had a regular route and most women kept their curtains open to give him a show each night. However, there was a new resident in the neighbourhood and she called the cops on him. He was arrested the same night. He was also released on a low bond.

I printed off the search results for each of the fugitives and put their results in file folders. Then I sent a text to Lula. _"Researched the new files. Do you want to go after them tomorrow morning? I will pick you up at the office at nine."_

A few minutes later I received the message _"see you then."_

I then turned to the Rangeman files. There were six files from Sales and one from Ranger. I started the one from Ranger first. It was extensive and would take a lot longer than the hour I had before it was time to work out with Ranger.

I was a third of the way through the file when Ranger came to my office door. I was so involved in the file that I didn't even notice that he was there until he cleared his throat. I jumped a mile high and Ranger started to laugh. "I tried not to startle you", he said. "I'm just glad your immediate reaction wasn't to go for your gun."

"Maybe I shouldn't be wearing one then", I said, smiling.

"Not a chance, Babe. You need to wear a gun. Speaking of which, I noticed that you weren't wearing your Kevlar vest or utility belt this morning."

"I was planning on putting it on when you got there. It is too hot out to wear Kevlar willy-nilly, and utility belts are uncomfortable to sit in."

"Okay. Just as long as you were planning on wearing them during the takedown."

"Of course. I'm not stupid. I know you wouldn't let me participate if I wasn't dressed."

"Are you ready to work out in the gym?"

"Yes." I shut down the computer, took off my gun belt and locked it away in my drawer with my purse, then shut and locked the door. We walked to the elevator and went down to the gym. Again there was a sign on the door announcing that the gym was closed from four o'clock to five thirty.

I looked at Ranger. "I'm still not comfortable with you working out with the guys. They would be watching you so intently they could hurt themselves in the process. I will continue to shut the gym down for the time being, every day from four to five thirty. I will send out an email to all staff announcing my decision tomorrow."

"You don't have to do that", I said as Ranger shooed the men out of the gym and scrambled the feed. I stripped down to my sports bra as Ranger followed the men towards the door. He locked it after the men left.

He came over to the mats. "Yes, I do have to do this. Now, let's start on stretches." He led me through a series of stretches that were starting to become routine for me. After stretching what felt like every muscle in my body, we started fighting. Ranger emptied his gun of bullets and, using it as a prop, showed me alternative ways that I could have gotten out of Avery's hold. Then, after three quarters of an hour of fighting, Ranger led me over to the treadmill. "I want you to do fifteen minutes on the treadmill", he said.

"No."

"You have to improve your cardio, Babe. If you had to chase someone and they were in any way in shape, you would lose. Your resting heart rate is much too fast."

I gave him a dirty look.

"I'll give you a massage tonight."

"Not good enough a deal", I said, although, to be honest, I think I was just protesting for the sake of protesting. Ranger's massages were excellent.

"I will up the ante. I will ask Ella to make dessert for you for every time you go on the treadmill, elliptical machine or bicycle. You have to stay on whichever cardio machine for fifteen minutes to get the dessert, though. That's my final offer."

I just looked at him, dumbstruck. "I think Ella made chocolate cake today", Ranger said.

"Massage and chocolate cake?" I asked to clarify.

"Yes."

"Hot damn!" I hopped on the treadmill and started it at a slow walk. I left it there. Ranger came over and turned up the speed. "Hey! You didn't say I have to go fast."

"And you didn't say how big the piece of chocolate cake had to be", Ranger shot back. I thought back over the conversation and swore softly. Ranger smiled and turned up the speed again. Soon I was red-faced, sweaty and out of breath. I looked longingly at the speed and envisioned turning it down. Then I envisioned a piece of chocolate cake. Then I envisioned a whole chocolate cake. Then I envisioned me throwing my chocolate cake in Ranger's face. Then I thought about what a waste of chocolate cake that would be, and I envisioned licking the chocolate cake off Ranger's face. And then I was breathing hard for two reasons, and the running I was doing was only one of them.

Ranger reached over and slowed the treadmill down at an infinitesimal pace. By the time the treadmill stopped I had almost collapsed. "Good job", he said.

"This had better be a double chocolate cake", I gasped out. Ranger smiled.

"Now for stretches."

"Again? I just did running. Isn't that enough punishment for this evening?"

"No. Stretches will help stop you from seizing up after your run."

"I have an idea. Next time we skip the run and head directly for the chocolate cake."

"Nice try. But no. No cardio, no dessert. That's the rule."

"I hate you", I said as I stretched out my muscles.

"That's okay. This is one of the differences between having you on staff and the rest of the guys. My guys don't get dessert even if they do cardio. They do cardio because their job depends upon it. As does yours."

"I have done okay without cardio training."

"Yes, you have done all right. You could be better."

By the time I finished stretching out my breathing had almost recovered. My face remained red and I could feel the heat emanating from it. Ranger threw me a cold bottle of water from the fridge and a towel. I held the bottle to my face and sank down on the bench. "You did well, Babe. I know you don't like cardio, but it is important to do."

"If it was only as pleasant as eating chocolate cake, I would work out all the time."

Ranger laughed. "See, that is the difference between you and me. I think that, if chocolate cake was only as pleasurable as working out, I would eat chocolate cake all the time."

"Are you sure Ella is serving chocolate cake this evening?"

"Yes, but I also promised you chocolate cake. If she wasn't, I would drive to the store and buy you a Sara Lee cake. However, I already talked to her and found out she was serving chocolate cake this evening. She was making it from scratch this afternoon. She said she would save you a piece."

"She made it from scratch?"

"Yes, she said she would."

"My day just got better." I smiled. "I love scratch cakes!"

Ranger smiled and stood, pulling me up into his arms. "Eww. Gross. I'm all sweaty and smelly", I said, wrinkling my nose.

"And sexy. You are incredibly sexy", he said, as he dropped a kiss upon the tip of my nose.

"Thank you, but this just confirms it. You're weird."

Ranger started to laugh, took my empty water bottle and put it in the recycling bin, dropped my sweaty towel in the laundry bin, took my hand and led me from the room.

Ranger got in the shower with me. It was a hot shower, and he said he was there to start the massage right away, to make sure my muscles didn't tense. And I think it worked. At first my muscles were tense, then as he soaped me up they became tenser, then they exploded and I became very, very relaxed. As I said, his massages are amazing.

After our shower, Ranger dried me off and wrapped me in a towel. I sank down on the bench as he retrieved his housecoat for me to wear. While I summoned the energy to put on the housecoat Ranger got dressed in a pair of sweatpants. And nothing else. My mouth went dry.

"Come on," he said, "Ella put dinner in the warming oven while we were in the shower. It smells amazing."

I hauled myself off the bench and put on Ranger's housecoat, and walked barefooted through to the dining room. By the time I got there, Ranger had already set the table and poured wine and water for us. He laid out plates of shrimp satay, jasmine rice, broccoli and carrots as I sank into my chair.

"Did she remember the chocolate cake?" I asked.

* * *

The chocolate cake was worth the work out, but I wasn't going to tell Ranger that. Ella made a fabulous chocolate cake, decadent and moist, with creamy, sweet, rich icing between the layers. I finished the cake in its entirety, cleaning the plate as fully as if I had licked it.

After we cleaned up from dinner, I got dressed and prepared to leave.

"Are you going already?" asked Ranger. "You haven't had your massage yet." He smiled that half-smile of his, and his eyes dilated black.

"If I have any more massage, I will be a big pile of goo on your floor."

"Technically you would be in my bed. And I promised you a proper massage", he reminded me. I stood there undecided, hesitating, considering. I really wanted to stay another night, but what was the point in returning to my own apartment if I was always going to be staying at Ranger's?

With willpower I did not know I had, I said "I will take a rain check on the massage, thanks. I have to see to Rex."

"See? Secrets. I told you that you have secrets", he said as he gave me a deep kiss. I was just about to cave when he took a step back, breathing heavily. "You have a choice. Either leave now, or stay the night. Because if you stay here in the dining room, I will take you on the dining room table. And although that would be fun, I don't think that will help your stiffness in the morning."

I would like to say "good grief", but I was thinking exactly the same way. I decided to retreat while I still could. I had a lot to think about.

I gave Ranger another quick kiss, then turned towards the door. As I turned to shut the door behind me, I looked back and saw Ranger watching after me, his face blank of all expression.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

I walked in my apartment and listened to the still emptiness. Rex was running on his wheel. He did not seem to be particularly perturbed about the fact that I was late getting home from work. I put my gun in my cookie jar, put my stun gun in the charger and sat down on the couch. I turned on the TV, but despite getting a million and one channels, I could not find anything good to watch. I walked into the kitchen and looked around. There were no dishes to wash, nothing to tidy. I fed Rex and changed his water. Then I went to the fridge and looked inside. There was a lot of good food there, but I was full from chocolate cake and did not think I could fit more food in. I took out a blueberry and put it in Rex's dish.

I thought about taking a shower, but since I had just finished showering a couple of hours before, I decided that it would be a little redundant. I sorted through my purse, throwing out the old tissues and stale candies, old receipts and dead bottles of hand sanitizer and hand lotion, and organizing everything back into the appropriate pockets. At the same time as I was going through my bag, I pulled out the three outstanding files that I had. I reviewed all the information that I had on each of the outstanding skips. When I finished that I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, and washed, toned and moisturized my face. I put on the shirt that I had scammed from Ranger's cupboard and a pair of hot pink boy briefs. I was ready for bed. And since I didn't have anything better to do, that is exactly what I did. I went to bed.

I lay in bed for quite some time, unable to fall asleep. I tried to sort out my feelings about Ranger. I knew I was addicted to how he made me feel as if I was the most important person in the world to him. And I knew he made me laugh, and he had the power to make me cry. The problem, I decided, was that I cared so much about him, and I had no clue as to how he felt about me. Sure, he indicated he might want to see where a relationship with me would go. But that doesn't really say what he feels, does it? And he has entrusted me with knowledge of his secret government work, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wants to get together, does it? Or does it? I felt so confused.

The truth of the matter is that I felt so uncertain about Ranger. I knew we were good friends. And I recognized that I understood as much or more about him than most people. I knew he would never purposely hurt me, and I was aware of some of the details of his life. But I also knew, if we were going to move past the "friends with benefits" designation, I would have to learn more about him as a person. I would have to know his thoughts, his feelings, his hopes and his dreams. I would have to know him almost as well as I knew myself. And that was my main stumbling block. I knew him, all the parts that were essential, the gift inside the present. But I wanted to know all of him, the wrappings as well. I didn't know whether I would ever know that.

I curled up in the middle of the bed, hugged my knees into my chest, and worried about where the relationship was going.

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, after hours of tossing and turning, I heard a click on my door. I grabbed my phone and called Ranger. His phone rang in the living room as he walked through my apartment to the bedroom. "Shh, Babe. It's okay. It's just me."

"Jeez! You scared the crap out of me." I hung up my phone and put it back on the bedside table, turned on the light and rolled over to look at Ranger. He looked dangerous. He was not smiling, his eyes were dilated black, he had five o'clock shadow, and he looked tired. "Why are you here? Not that you aren't welcome, but why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep without you there. And as I was tossing and turning, I wondered why I was doing that when you were all snuggly in a bed over here. I thought that I would come over here to see if you would mind sharing your bed."

I smiled and lifted up the blankets. Ranger quickly shucked everything except his boxers and climbed under the covers. I turned off the light and he gathered me into a spoon position, his hand cradling my breast, gave a huge sigh, smoothed my hair away from where it was tickling his nose, kissed the top of my head, and fell asleep. I tumbled down into sleep milliseconds later.

* * *

The next day I woke up at eight o'clock, the smell of coffee brewing in the air, the sound of the shower running in my bathroom, the feeling of stiffness in my muscles. I got up and shuffled out to the kitchen, taking out the bottle of ibuprofen and taking two tablets. I poured both Ranger and me some coffee as I heard the shower stop running, and put some cream in mine. I carried them through to the bathroom, giving Ranger's to him as he dried off. I then quietly drank my coffee as he shaved. There was something nice about watching Ranger shave. It was a peaceful way to start the day. I like the scent of his shaving cream, the quietness of watching him shave, the soft smoothness of his cheeks afterwards.

"What do you have on today, Babe?" he asked as he ran his razor over his cheek.

"Lula and I are skip chasing this morning. Lula sent me over the info on another two files that came in yesterday. Then, since it is Saturday and a half day at the office, I will be dropping Lula back at her car and returning to Rangeman. I have a number of files to research, and I hope to be caught up by the end of the evening, although I doubt that is possible."

"I was wondering, if you felt caught up enough, if you would like to come for dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. Before you say yes or no, you should be aware my family will consider us almost engaged. I haven't brought anyone home since Rachel. It could be quite uncomfortable for you." Ranger looked at me in question, his eyebrow raised.

"It could be even more uncomfortable for you", I remarked drily. "What should I wear?"

"Whatever you want. You always look nice."

I followed Ranger into the bedroom and watched him get dressed. "What are you doing today?" I asked.

"I have work to do on a couple of existing clients, overhauling their existing security systems. I also want to do a workout. Do you want to get together at four to go to the gym?"

"Not today. I want to make sure that I get all my work done so I can enjoy tomorrow."

"Will you stay at my place tonight or do you want me to stay here?"

"We can stay at your place. I will just need to swing by tomorrow before we leave for Newark to feed Rex."

"Why don't I just take him with me right now, and put him in my apartment?"

I looked at him. "Ranger, I know I love you. I have known you long enough to know I admire, respect and love your determination, your resourcefulness, your intelligence, your deep caring, everything about you as a person. But I don't know you at the same time. All those things I spoke about during the pizza lunch, your past, your present and your future – I don't know that. Your past you never talk about, your present you barely talk about, and I have no idea what your future hopes and dreams are. I have been enjoying our dates because I am getting to know you a bit better. We have started this a backwards. Normally it goes friends, then relationship, then benefits. We started with the friends thing, then we took a huge step forward to the benefits thing, and now we are taking a step back and trying to fill in what we missed on the relationship thing. Our dates have been normal, fun dates. I look forward to meeting your family. That will also fill in some of the gaping holes. But if you take Rex to your apartment again, we are jumping ahead to the benefits without filling in the relationship thing first. And I think, if we want to make this serious, we should slow it down a bit. I'd like to see where this could potentially go. I am trying to acclimatize myself to the need for increased security, and so far I have kept all the screaming in my head, so I think I am doing pretty well. But moving over my pet when I am not in danger seems like much more of a permanent step than simply staying over at your place periodically and coming home to look after Rex."

"That is what Elena said."

"Elena? Your sister?"

"Yes. I talked to her on the phone last night for a while. I told her what you had told the guys, and she said you sounded very wise. She said I needed to do the same thing, to fill in the blanks on my life. She was the one who suggested bringing you to dinner. To tell you the truth, I think she just wants to meet you. As I said, you will be the first person I will have brought home since Rachel. You are even the first person I have talked about."

"I look forward to meeting your family. Do you want toast for breakfast?"

"No, I think I will just have a banana. I want to have a workout when I get back to Rangeman."

I toasted a couple of slices of bread, spread peanut butter on one, chocolate hazelnut spread on the other, and smushed the two together in a sandwich. I took a bite and sighed with pleasure.

Ranger grinned. "It is always a pleasure seeing you eat. It is the restauranteur in me coming out. I like seeing people enjoy their food. Seeing you eat takes it up a notch and turns it erotic", he said, his eyes dilating black with desire.

"You must be very happy around me then, since I enjoy…eating."

He grinned again. "I am going to go", he said giving me a kiss on the lips. "Mmm…the chocolate/peanut butter mix is good. I have to go before I stay here and have a different sort of workout. And you have to go to meet up with Lula this morning. See you tonight?"

"Absolutely."

After Ranger left, I found his shower bag containing his deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, a couple of band-aids, a strip of condoms, shaving cream and razor neatly placed at the side of my sink. Not that I looked inside. Knowing Ranger, he had left it there on purpose. The last time Ranger did that was when Julie was kidnapped, and that time I wanted to scream. This time I didn't want to scream. This time I wasn't sure if I should feel threatened by Ranger taking over some of my space, or whether I should be amused that he was staking his claim, or whether I should feel intimidated by the speed in which he was moving things. I still didn't know where we stood, and I was feeling a bit pressured into making decisions that I was not prepared to make at this time.

I found it a bit ironic that I was so concerned about Ranger invading my space. I have invaded his space off and on for years, mostly as a platonic friend. It was only recently that we consistently added sex to the relationship. I have my own space in his apartment and, although few have seen the inside of Ranger's apartment, he has always been generous about sharing his space with me. Hell, I even had pads and tampons at his place. I recognized the contradiction in what I do and what I felt comfortable having Ranger do. It wasn't fair, but I could not change my feelings. I could only recognize the unfairness of how I felt.

I zipped Ranger's bag closed and put it in my bottom drawer. End of problem. I didn't have to think about it.

Ranger was taking steps towards solidifying the relationship in very real ways. Taking me home to his family was such a normal thing to do. I wanted to go. I was honoured to go. I was terrified to go.

I stepped in the shower and soaped up with Bulgari Green, getting comfort from the scent. Then, after blasting my hair with the dryer, putting it up into a pony tail, applying BB cream, three coats of mascara and my favourite lip gloss, I put on a pair of short cut-off jean shorts, one of Ranger's shirts tied off with a hair elastic at the waist, and my favourite running shoes. Between the shower, the three coats of mascara – I often find my self-confidence increases with each coat of mascara – and wearing Ranger's shirt, I was feeling much more settled. I packed a blue and white floral chiffon sleeveless summer dress – fitted on the top with a short, floaty full skirt on the bottom – a light blue summer cardigan, a pair of ballet flats and a shiny and modest silver heart necklace and hoop earrings into a bag. I didn't pack anything special for the upcoming evening. I was planning on working.

I fed Rex and changed his water dish, then locked up the apartment and left for the day.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Connie was in the bonds office when I arrived. So was Vinnie. When Vinnie heard my voice, he quickly put his pecker back in his pants, turned off the incriminating evidence on his computer, and scurried out of his office. "Steph, you have got to work faster. We have outstanding skips."

"Vinnie, we only have three, two of them I just got handed yesterday afternoon, and the one we have outstanding, the cupid, isn't due back at work until Monday. I think she is out of town, because we have been doing spot checks on her house and she is not there."

"Are you sure she hasn't skipped town?"

"I don't think so. Ranger and I saw her at the pub the other night, but I wasn't given her file until the following day so I didn't know she was FTA when we saw her."

"Are you and Ranger together now?" asked Vinnie, his beady eyes alive in excitement. Connie sat forward to hear my response.

"We are friends. Good friends, but friends."

"But you went out to a pub together."

"It was a nice night and we like spending time together. So sue me", I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I didn't know that pubs had organic health food on the menu." Lula came in behind Vinnie and stood, with her purse under her arm, ready to go for the day.

"It didn't. Ranger and I shared a plate of nachos and an order of wings. And we had a Corona each. I was so full by the end of it I didn't even have room for dessert. It was a good spot to go. They have an excellent patio. By the way, Vinnie, how is Lucille?"

"She is all bent out of shape over my affair with her duck. It is just a duck, for fuck's sake. And it wasn't like it was a long affair. It's not that weird to have a relationship with a duck, is it? But no, she had to get her father involved, and now he isn't happy. And Harry is not the sort of person who you want to make unhappy. Lucille is making sure that I attend all my meetings of my sex groups. I had to come in the office today. Lucille has invited the duck into the house to live to 'protect' it from me, but I am finding it hard. All that quacking is turning me on."

"Vinnie, everything turns you on."

"I know I have an active sex drive, but you would think that Lucille would be happy that I was doing a duck. It saves her from putting out for a night or two. But no, she doesn't appreciate the benefits of bestiality."

I looked over at Lula and Connie. They were both staring at Vinnie with deer-in-the-headlights looks. I recognized their feelings of horror because they so clearly mirrored my own. "Eww. I don't think I would be grateful for bestiality either, Vinnie", I said. I turned to Lula. "Do you have anything to add?"

"I think I need to wash my hands on the way out. I feel dirty", said Lula.

"Okay, let's go." I turned to Connie. "Good luck and remember, Lucille would probably thank you if you shot him and Harry could help you get rid of the body."

"What?" exclaimed Vinnie. "Bestiality is a common fetish. Why are you all treating it like it is weird?"

* * *

Lula and I decided to tackle the peeping tom first, Caleb Landon. He was caught looking in Skye Chester's windows one Saturday night. She had left her curtains open and, when she called the police, Caleb took off. He did not get far, partly due to the bulge in his pants and partly due to the fact that he was ninety-two. I was just impressed with his initiative and that he could get a bulge in his pants when he was that old. He lived with his daughter in the Burg. Lula and I drove to his daughter's house first. A woman, about sixty years old, answered the door.

"I don't know where my father is right now. I just know he isn't here. Is he in more trouble?" she asked as she worried her lip.

"No, not really. He just missed his court date and we are here to escort him to the courthouse to get his date rescheduled. It's no big deal to get rescheduled. People forget their court date all the time. However, it is a big deal if he tries to avoid coming to jail. That makes him a wanted fugitive and anyone that harbours him could get in trouble. Like you and your family. Does he belong to any social clubs?"

"Yes, one on Broad." She gave me the name of the club. I handed her my card and got her promise to call when her father came home.

Lula and I next motored off to the club on Broad. "I don't know where he is", said the bartender. "He may be at one of his honeys. He has a number of them."

"Do you know who they are?" I asked.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry. I'm not much help."

"You are doing fine. Thank you for your help." I went through my spiel about it being important not to harbour a criminal, handed him my business card and asked him to call me if he saw him. He said he would.

"What do you think next?" I asked Lula. "Public urination on church sign, or go to my parents' house to pump the gossip mill for information on Landon?"

"It may be too early in the day to go to your parents' house. Your mama and grandma might not be serving cake yet. Let's do the public urination first."

* * *

Henry Parker lived in a semi-detached house just off Broad, in the same neighbourhood as the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. We drove up and parked a couple of houses down the road. The street was noisy. There were little girls skipping on the sidewalk, little boys riding their bikes up and down the sidewalk and generally getting in the way of the little girls, and toddlers drawing on the driveways with chalk while their parents were out doing gardening and washing cars.

Lula and I walked up to Parker's house and rang the doorbell. We heard a loud thump from inside, then nothing. I rang the doorbell again. Through the open upstairs windows, we heard someone running to the bathroom and throwing up. When the retching stopped, we rang the doorbell again. After ringing the doorbell several more times, Henry Parker finally came down the stairs. "Would you stop incessantly ringing the doorbell? I have a bad headache and the doorbell is making it worse."

I looked at Parker. The smell of alcohol emanating from his pores hit you in the face first, even before you noticed the bloodshot eyes, black circles under his eyes, and vomit in his hair. "Oh, boy. Do you ever need a shower! And some pain relievers, and my cure of hangovers – McDonald's fries and a large coke." He looked at me, goggle-eyed. "I am Stephanie Plum, and this is Lula. We are here representing your bail bonds agent. You missed your court date and need to go into court to reschedule. We are here to take you in." I walked forward, forcing him to take a few steps back until both Lula and I were in the house.

"Come back in four hours and I will gladly go in with you. But I need more sleep first."

"That's not how this is going to work. I am authorized to bring you in however I find you, stained pyjamas and all", I said, looking at his Elmer Fudd pyjamas with coffee stains all down the front of them. "Even with the vomit in your hair. It is also protocol to cuff and shackle you in order to take you into the station. I will make a deal with you, however. I will let you take a shower and clean up and take some pain relievers. I will take you out of the house without cuffs and shackles as long as you behave. And I will take you to McDonald's for my favourite hangover cure on the way into the station. If you do not behave, I will do all those things that I am authorized and encouraged to do, and I will take great joy in pointing out your humiliation to your neighbours. Do we have a deal?"

Glumly, Parker nodded his head.

"Now, where do you keep the pain relievers?" I asked. I walked into the kitchen and started looking through his cupboards.

"Upstairs in the bathroom."

"Go upstairs and take a couple, and have a shower. We will wait down here."

Parker ran upstairs and threw up. Then, a few minutes later, we heard the shower start to run. "Do you want to wait outside or do you want me to?" I asked.

"It's a nice day out. I'll volunteer for the outside. I will leave the rainy days for you", grinned Lula. She went out on the back porch and sat herself down on a lawn chair in the shade.

We waited and waited. Parker took the longest shower in history. Apparently, as the single resident in the house, he had no need to worry about a lack of hot water. I looked outside a couple of times to make sure that Lula had not fallen asleep. It would not be the first time she had fallen asleep while watching out for a skip. I figured she was good, however. The windows weren't rattling with the force of her snores.

I waited at the base of the stairs. By the time Parker was ready to go he had cleaned up, used eye drops to eliminate the redness, and his headache was much improved. He looked infinitely better than he had when we first got there. I called out to Lula that it was time to go. There was no response from Lula. I motioned to Parker to walk in front of me, and walked him through his house to the door from the kitchen to the back yard. Lula was asleep. I shook her awake. "Henry is finished getting ready", I said. "As soon as he locks up the house we will be ready to leave."

"I don't know what happened. I just shut my eyes for a moment to guard them against the glare."

Lula and I followed Henry into the house, and stood while he locked the back door and all the windows. Getting ready to leave, I said "you will need your wallet to pay for a cab ride back, unless you call a friend for a ride." He picked up his wallet off the hall table and put it in his back pocket.

Just as we were about to step through the front door out onto the street, I said "if you don't want to let your neighbours know what is going on, you may want to look a little happier. Pretend you are going to the zoo."

"I hate the zoo."

"Okay, pretend you are going to the museum."

"I hate the museum, too."

"Pretend you are going to the circus then", said Lula, exasperated. "Everybody likes the circus."

We walked out the door, locked it, and walked down to the car. I held open the back door for him. He climbed inside and I watched to make sure he put his seatbelt on. Then Lula and I got in, turned up the air conditioning to freezing and the fan speed to supersonic, put the car in gear, and drove to the closest McDonald's. "Do you want a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder with Cheese to go along with your fries and Coke?" I asked.

"Yes, please. A Quarter Pounder", came the voice from the back.

"I would like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese combo with a Diet Coke", said Lula. "What are you having?"

"I am eating lunch at Rangeman."

"Who said anything about this being lunch? One combo isn't enough for lunch. This is a snack."

"I think I will just have an orange juice."

"Ever since you started working at Rangeman your ability to eat sure has gone down. You make me self-conscious about my eating. Pretty soon I will also only be having one combo for lunch. Only three doughnuts. No value meal combo for a snack. I bet you don't even eat dessert anymore. Of course, now that you are getting it regularly with Mr. Mysterio, you don't need dessert." Lula has a theory that I use either sex or sweets to deal with life's stresses. She may be right, as recently I was under a lot of stress and I ate everything in sight.

"I still eat dessert. Ranger arranged for me to have a piece of homemade chocolate cake for dessert last night."

"Get out, really?"

"Yes."

"How was it?"

"I just about licked the plate clean." I drove through the drive through and ordered and paid for our food. When we picked it up, I handed the bags over to Lula to dole out the food, then parked in the shade of a tree. I put the front windows down all the way, and the back windows down a couple of inches. Then I locked the window position. I waited for a while after Parker finished eating, letting his food settle and work its magic. Lula cleaned out her purse while we waited. I did not need to. I did mine the night before.

After fifteen minutes of quiet, I got a call from the social club. Landon had shown up for a drink. "We are going to do a two-for-one this morning. We are going to pick up Landon, which will allow Parker's headache to fade more completely. I am not sure how we are going to do it yet, but we will have both to take into the station." I drove over to the social club and, leaving Lula and Parker in the car with the front windows completely down and the back windows down a couple of inches for breeze, I walked into the social club.

Recognizing Landon from his police picture, I walked over. He was easy to spot. He was the only person there that was as old as dirt. I introduced myself and explained why I was there. "Did I forget my date?" he asked. "I forget so many things these days. What day is it?"

"It is Saturday, sir", I said.

"Saturday! I am supposed to meet with my friends at the club on Saturday!" he said.

"You are at the club, sir."

"My friends were going to introduce me to a new girl for some knicky-knacky. Are you the girl? Because I would like to have some knicky-knacky with you."

"No, sir. I am here to take you in to be rescheduled."

"What did I do again?"

"You were caught as a peeping tom."

"Hunh. Did I see anything good?"

"I don't know." The bartender was smiling the whole time he was listening to us, and that made me wonder. I turned to the bartender. "Is he normally this confused?"

"I have seen him better", he said.

"Are you putting me on?" I asked Landon.

Landon smiled. "Why would I put you on? Where are you taking me again?"

"To the precinct. And I am wise to your plan. You can still try the memory-loss thing with the police, but you can drop it with me. Now, I have a problem. I have someone in my car already going to the precinct. He is waiting with my assistant. What we are going to do is have my assistant wait here with you while I drop the other guy off at the precinct, then I will come back for you. I just need you to walk out to the car with me to pick up my assistant. She will buy you another drink while you wait with her. You may want to remember your conversation when you talk to her. She is a former hooker and she is a tonne of fun." I saw the gleam in his eye and said "not that kind of fun. She doesn't do that anymore." I put some money down on the bar to pay for Landon's drink and said "he'll be back in a minute." We walked out to the car.

"Thank God you are here", said Parker. "She was starting to snore and that is not helping my headache any."

I woke Lula up and explained what I was going to do and what I needed her to do. I explained that Landon would probably like stories about her former life – I found many of the seniors do, as many are insatiably curious and hungry for stories. And I explained that Landon is not really confused or has a memory loss, despite what he was claiming. "Watch out for this one, Lula. He's wily."

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing. I would be happy to tell you all about being a 'ho, sweetcheeks. Let's just go in and get ourselves a drink. Stephanie is buying, which means I am going to have one of the expensive mixed drinks. Maybe a Harvey Wallbanger. I don't know what that is, but I love the name. Maybe I should try one of those." She led Landon back into the club.

I got back in the car, then drove Parker to the police station. I parked in the short-term parking and walked Parker into the station. I apologized, then cuffed him to the bench before going to the docket lieutenant and to get my paperwork filled out. Then I drove back to the social club to pick up Lula and Landon.

When I got to the social club, I found Landon pumping Lula for information. "You are back already?" he asked, disappointed. "I have been finding out all sorts of interesting things. I will buy you a drink if you wait a few minutes. Lula was telling me the most fascinating story about a man dressed as a woman." I looked down and saw that Lula had finished only half of her Wallbanger.

"Sure. What the heck", I said as I sat down. I ordered a cranberry juice and paid for Lula's and Landon's drinks at the same time as I paid for my own. I drank my juice while Lula finished telling her story. When she finished, before she could start on another, I said "drink up. I need to drop you off at the office, take Landon in, then head off to Rangeman for the afternoon. I have a number of files I want to research."

"Sounds good."

"If there are any new files for me at the office, could you please text me the details before you leave for the day?"

"Sure thing."

We went outside and got in the car, turning the air conditioner on to full blast. That is a prerequisite to be a New Jersey driver. In the summer you turn the air conditioner up full blast until you are shivering and blue; in the winter you turn your heater up full blast until you are red-faced and sweating. It is like an unwritten rule.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Arriving back at Rangeman, I parked in Ranger's fourth spot and carried my bag up to Ranger's apartment. Once there, I deposited my bag in his closet and hung my dress so that it would not crease. I then got dressed for the office – taking my gun belt out of my purse and putting on my gun. Sorting through the rest of my purse, I decided that the only other thing I needed for the afternoon was my phone and the keys to my office door. I was putting my phone in my pocket when Ranger came in the front door.

"Have you eaten?" he asked as I walked through to the kitchen. He was unloading a bag containing two sandwiches, two containers of cut strawberries, two containers of celery and blue cheese dip, and two ice cold bottles of water.

"No, that's great. All I've had since breakfast today was an orange juice from McDonald's and a cranberry juice at the bar."

"Buying lunch for your skips again?"

"McDonald's was primarily a hangover cure, although technically it was both breakfast and lunch as well. Lula had a snack, too. And we found the second skip at his social club and, when I picked him up, he wasn't ready to go in. So I had a cranberry juice."

"I have to ask although I think I don't want to hear the answer – what was Lula's snack?"

"A Quarter Pounder meal deal with our first skip, and a Harvey Wallbanger at the bar with our second."

"A Quarter Pounder combo is a snack?"

"If she is having it for a meal she orders two combos."

"She can really pack it away. I don't know why she isn't bigger based on her level of eating and her lack of exercise."

"Just good genes, I guess." I finished up my sandwich and turned to the celery and dip. We ate in a companionable silence for a moment, me resting my head upon my hand. My eyes started to close. My night of wondering about Ranger and where the relationship was going was catching up to me.

"Tired, Babe?" I jerked my head awake.

"I think it is more an absence of coffee. I should have had coffee at McDonald's and the bar rather than juice." I finished my celery and started eating my strawberries. "You know, strawberries are so much better with chocolate on them."

Ranger smiled. "Why don't you have a nap before you start work for the afternoon? You are barely keeping your eyes open."

"I have a lot of work to do."

"You can always work into the evening if you think it cannot wait until Monday. You have been working a lot of hours. It makes sense that you are tired. Have a nap. I will come up and wake you in an hour."

"Okay. As long as you wake me. I want to make sure I am free so I can meet your family tomorrow."

Ranger pulled me to my feet and removed my gun belt. He put it on the kitchen counter, then led me into the bedroom. He pulled down the sheets and tucked me in, kissing me on the forehead as he wished me a good sleep. I was asleep before he left the apartment.

* * *

I struggled to wake up as Ranger's hand cradled my face and he gently rubbed his thumb across my cheekbone. I tried to burrow into the pillow more deeply. "Come on, Babe", Ranger said, amused. "Your coffee is getting cold."

I sleepily sat up and pushed my hair out of my eyes. I reached for the coffee and pried my eyes open. "Wow," I said in a sleep-husky voice, "I didn't realize I was so tired. I was sleeping really deeply when you came in."

"I noticed. It took me a couple of minutes to wake you. Do you just want to put off the work until Monday and rest this afternoon?"

"Thank you, but no. I am waking up now and will be good to go once the coffee kicks in. Besides, I am going skip chasing on Monday and I don't know if or when I will be in the office. I have one outstanding skip." I looked at my phone and read a text from Lula. "And three more have come in today. It would be better to get caught up on the Rangeman files this afternoon."

"Just don't overtire yourself."

"I'll be fine." By now I was fully awake. I gave Ranger a deep kiss which was giving me other ideas. Ranger pulled away.

"I would like to follow this up, but I have a meeting in ten minutes that I need to get to. Ella is making us dinner here and then, if you still want to work, you can either work up here or down in your office. I have a meeting with Tank after dinner, so I will be in my office." Ranger had more willpower than me. I had been trying to decide how badly I needed to research those files.

Ranger left the apartment and I sat in bed, finishing my coffee. I took the empty coffee cup with me down to my office, stopping in the break room for a refill. I then went to my office and booted up the computer, logged on the search engines, then continued on the Rangeman file for Ranger that I had started the day before.

* * *

Four hours later I had completed Ranger's file, all three of Vinnie's files and two of the six Sales files. I was just opening up another Sales file when Ranger came to my door. "Are you ready for dinner, Babe?"

"This is as good a time as any to break." I inputted the first name of the new file into the search engine, then got up and stretched.

"Stiff?"

"Yes. My muscles are still stiff from yesterday's workout."

"We'll do ten minutes of stretches before dinner to help with that."

"We don't have to. I'm fine."

"It will help, Babe. You are only going to get more uncomfortable the longer you sit there without moving around. Why put up with it when you don't have to?" Put like that, it really didn't make sense to not stretch.

Ranger put his arm around my shoulders as he walked with me down the hall towards the elevator. When we were in the elevator, I leaned into Ranger. "Tired, Babe?"

"I am. I'm expecting my period, so I am especially tired."

He kissed my head, and his hand came up and massaged my neck.

We got off the elevator on the seventh floor. Ranger keyed us into the apartment and led me to the living room. He guided me through a series of stretches that, as much as I hated to admit it, felt good. After ten or fifteen minutes I had stretched my whole body and was feeling much better.

Ranger helped me up off the floor. We washed our hands and set the table. "Wine?" asked Ranger.

"Thanks, but no. If I have wine I think I would be asleep before dinner was finished." I poured water for both of us and got out cutlery and plates. I handed them to Ranger as I got out a napkin for each of us.

"What files do you have left?" asked Ranger.

"I have four files for Sales to research. So about another three hours. You saw that I finished your file, right? I put it on your desk. And I was able to get two files for Sales completed and the three for Vinnie. So I am doing well. I will be able to get them completed by the end of the evening." I yawned so widely my eyes started watering.

"Maybe you should call it a night. You worked about eighty hours last week, maybe even ninety. You don't want to burn yourself out, Babe. You need to rest."

"I can do this. It is just three more hours, and then I can sleep in tomorrow morning. What time do we have to leave for your parents' house?"

"Not until three, so you can sleep as late as you want."

"That sounds like heaven. That's my carrot for getting the work done."

"You can always sleep in tomorrow and take the night off as well. Sales files are not essential and can wait a few days."

"No, it will bother me knowing the files are still out there. Thanks, anyways." Ella had made homemade hamburgers with a tossed salad for dinner. I put condiments and some sliced dill pickles on mine, then sunk my teeth into the burger. It had been a long time since I had eaten a homemade burger, and Ella's were particularly good.

"I am nervous about meeting your family tomorrow", I said.

"They are just people who will have an enormous need to know everything about you. Just as a reminder, they know nothing about my work with the government and I would like to keep it that way. However, there is nothing else you can't say. Just be yourself and they will love you."

"I don't know…" I yawned widely.

"Everybody loves you. You are one of the most popular people I have ever met. You just need to enter a room and within minutes you have everyone eating out of your hand. That's just who you are. You are very personable and you care deeply about others. You will do well tomorrow."

"I just don't want to let you down."

"You won't. There is nothing that could happen that could get me upset with you. My family is nice. I think you will like them. There will be many people there."

"You said 'many people'. How many people are supposed to be there?" I tried to swallow another yawn.

"Elena, her husband William, and their three kids, Celia and her husband Gabriel and their two boys, Rosa, Grandma Rosa, and my parents. Maria and her husband will not be able to come on such short notice. I am sure they would have if they had received enough warning. And Silvio is in the Middle East right now and won't be home on leave for another few months. Celia, Elena and Rosa will share their impressions of you with Silvio and Maria. So including us, there will be fifteen people there. A small family get-together. About twice per year Elena shuts the restaurant down for the night and has a big family get-together with all the extended family. With all the aunts, uncles and cousins, we are well over seventy people."

"Thank you for not inviting me to the big get-together. That would have been even more intimidating."

"Don't worry. You will do fine." He reached across the table and captured my hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Does your Grandma Rosa speak English? Now that I know she used to be the hostess at your parents' restaurant, I think she must but I seem to remember you telling me once before that she did not. I think it was when we were doing research when Julie was kidnapped."

"I did say that, but I was only teasing at the time. She prefers Spanish but is definitely bilingual and is comfortable in either language."

"Okay, that will make things easier tomorrow." I paused and yawned. "This yawning is terrible. I can't seem to stop!"

"You are very tired."

"I am. So what are you working on with Tank this evening?"

"We are designing another training program. This would be a train-the-trainer program, where we would be training the instructors on how to teach the staff."

"What will the topic be?"

"Rescue operations. The idea is that by training the staff how to teach rescue operations, I would only have to be down there for the training on personal security, and for the students' evaluations for the rescue operations portion of their training. This means that instead of the rotation of three weeks here, one week there, five weeks here, and three weeks there, I would be here three weeks, one week there, seven weeks here, one week there. It halves the amount of time I would need to be down south. In the three month cycle, I would only need to be away for two weeks instead of four. Since the business is growing so quickly, both Tank and I need to be in the office as much as possible."

I yawned again. "I am sorry. I do want to hear this."

"I know. But you are tired. Go to bed. Leave the files until Monday."

"No, I can do this." I yawned again. I got up and cleared the table. "Are you working late tonight?"

"Probably two or three hours. We have to do it after hours so we aren't interrupted."

"We should be finished about the same time."

Ranger put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher while I put the condiments back in the fridge. Then, together, we went back down to the Operations floor.

* * *

Three hours later Ranger came to my office and shook me awake. "Come on, Babe. Time for bed."

Still half asleep, I said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have a nap."

"Shh. It's okay, Babe. I know you are tired. Let's go to bed."

I got up, wobbling as I stood there. Ranger reached out to steady me, then reached around me and turned off my computer. He locked my office door for me, handing me back my key. Then wrapping his arm around my waist, he helped me stumble down the corridor to the elevators. Still half-asleep, I staggered onto the elevator and leaned into Ranger, resting my head on his chest and wrapping my arms around his neck. I was dimly aware of the elevator stopping. "Babe?" he said. When I didn't respond, he picked me up and carried me the rest of the way to bed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

The next morning Ranger didn't set his watch alarm. We both ended up sleeping in. Ranger slept to six in the morning. I slept to eleven. I woke slowly, smelling the scent of coffee brewing and hearing the tapping of computer keys. Ranger was working in his office.

I felt great, wonderfully relaxed. I slowly stretched and sighed with pleasure. I vaguely remembered Ranger putting me to bed the night before. I remember him taking my shoes and socks off, and undoing the hair elastic on the shirt to let the shirt loose again. And I had a hazy recollection of him taking my shorts off, then tucking me into bed. I checked. I was still wearing my panties and his shirt. My panties were on the right way.

I stretched again and got out of bed. I used the facilities and brushed my teeth, then wandered in to see Ranger. "Good morning." I sat on his knee.

"It used to be when you would play Goldilocks in my apartment. Last night you played Sleeping Beauty. Did you have a good sleep?"

"I did. I figure I slept about twelve hours. I didn't realize how tired I was. Do you know how much of the Sales files I got through?"

"No, I didn't look. I just turned off your computer and brought you upstairs."

"I will have to go down to check."

"Tomorrow. Today is a day of rest. You need it. You've basically been working two full-time jobs since you started at Rangeman two months ago. Take the day off. Nothing will fall apart. The world won't stop turning. All the essential things have been done. You can relax for the day."

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? What are you doing right now? Working."

"Yes, but I didn't fall asleep at my desk yesterday and I haven't been working two jobs."

"No, but your one job takes up just as much time as my two jobs."

"Not quite. I usually work sixty-hour work weeks. I train another ten to fifteen hours per week. Which brings me up to another point. I was looking at your timesheets this morning and you haven't been billing Rangeman for the time you have been spending at the range and the gym. That is billable time. I have added ten hours per week to your timesheets to make up for the discrepancy for both the month that was approved when I was away, as well as this past month. In the future, I expect to see the training time added to your timesheet."

"That doesn't seem right to me. If I was anyway half decent at my job, I would already know how to shoot and to fight. It doesn't seem fair to me that you pay for me to learn something I should already know."

"Whether it seems right to you or not, Rangeman pays all Operations staff up to ten hours per week for training. You are not being treated any differently than any of the other Operations staff. It's important to keep up to date on your skills. You never know when you will need them and, with the nature of the job as a bounty hunter, you are front and centre when a lot of shit hits the fan. Self-defence, shooting skills, are all essential in the type of work you have chosen to do."

"Are we training today?"

"No, today will be a true day of rest. With your training time added on top of your two jobs, you are working somewhere between eighty and ninety hours per week, even up to one hundred hours some weeks, depending upon what has been going down. Vinnie has been overextending himself, which has resulted in a lot of pressure being put on you to keep up to date on catching the skips. And you have been doing a phenomenal job on staying up to date with the research desk. But something will break soon if you don't rest." I made a face. "Rest is important, Babe. Otherwise you can make mistakes. You could fall asleep driving, or not react fast enough at a time where speed is important. Being overtired can be deadly." He gave me a deep kiss, our tongues touched and suddenly I wasn't so relaxed any more. I think I might have moaned. Ranger pulled back. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving", I whispered, and I tried to pull him back into a kiss.

Ranger picked me up and carried me into the dining room. Putting me down on a chair, he turned to the refrigerator and pulled out a dish of strawberries, a plate of cut cheese, and a loaf of cinnamon bread on a bread board. He put out plates for the bread and cheese, and bowls for the strawberries. Then, getting cutlery, he set the table. He finished by pouring me a cup of coffee and doctoring it with cream.

"Ah, you meant for food when you asked if I was hungry", I said with a smile.

Ranger laughed. "Well, I'm hungry for food. I have been up since six."

"Why didn't you just go ahead and eat without me?"

"Because I wanted to share my breakfast with you." Ranger split the serving dish of strawberries into two bowls and put one in front of me. He then cut the cinnamon bread while I took the plastic wrap off the plate of cheese.

"Why didn't you just wake me up, then?"

"I wanted to let you sleep. It wasn't that long ago your nightmares about shooting Brodie were giving you problems with sleeping through the night and you haven't really had a good chance to catch up yet. I was glad you slept in as late as you did."

"Thank you for waiting then. That was sweet of you."

"I also waited to have my shower."

"Funny enough, I haven't had my shower yet either", I said with a smile.

* * *

After our shower, in which Ranger made sure that I was very clean, I blew my hair dry while Ranger shaved his face. Then Ranger took me back to bed for some naked napping. We didn't get much sleeping done, but we were feeling very relaxed and refreshed by the time we finished. "Do we have to go to meet your family?" I asked as I smiled and stretched languorously.

Ranger laughed. "Can't get out of this now, Babe. But we have an hour before we have to go. Do you want to get some real napping done?"

"I don't want to take the chance that we will be late."

"I will set my watch alarm." He fiddled with his watch and set the alarm, then cuddled me into him in a spoon-like fashion. He smoothed my curls away from his nose and kissed the top of my head as his hand drifted down, draped over my hip and covered my abdomen.

I had a bad dream about Berginni. I woke to a combination of the sound of Ranger's watch alarm and the keening in the back of my throat.

"I was just about to wake you, Babe, when the alarm went off. What were you dreaming about?"

"I was attacked by Berginni in front of your family. I got away, but he came after your family. I ended up shooting him to stop him from hurting everybody." I snuggled into Ranger, buried my nose in his chest, and smelled the comforting scent of Bulgari Green. I absorbed some of his peacefulness as my heart rate slowed.

"Wow. That was a whole ball of wax dream. It had little bits pulled from all sorts of stuff, from me using Berginni's face on your targets, to your feelings about shooting people, to your protectiveness of others, to worry about acceptance by my family, to your own feelings about Berginni. You know my family will love you, don't you?"

"No. I just want to make a good impression. It's important to me."

"I know it is, and I love you for it."

"You love me?"

"Yes, I do. I don't say it to you often enough, but yes, I do." He leaned his head down and gave me a soft and sweet kiss on the lips, then kissed my forehead, my cheekbones, my chin, my nose, and finally my lips again. His hand ran up and down my back, and my hands slipped down to do some exploring of my own. Ranger pulled back. "I'm sorry, Babe. We will have to take this up later or Rex won't get fed this afternoon."

"Damn. I almost had you."

Ranger started to laugh. "Yes, you did. But you already had me twice today, both of which were highly enjoyable, I might add, and you can have me again tonight. After we visit with my family."

"Okay." I gave him another kiss, a short, light kiss, and hauled myself out of bed. "Give me five minutes, ten minutes tops, and I will be ready to go."

"I don't believe you will be ready in ten minutes. I say it will take you at least fifteen", he teased.

"Ah, a challenge. I like it." I put on underwear, went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and used mouthwash. I then brushed my hair and, in deference to the heat outside, I put it up in a ponytail and put hairspray on to try to tame the frizzies. Once my hair was fixed, I applied my makeup – BB cream, bronzer, eyeliner, eye shadow, three coats of mascara for luck, and a raspberry lip gloss. I walked out of the bathroom with four minutes to spare. I went to the closet and put my dress over my head, got Ranger to zip up the back – I could have done it myself but why struggle? – put on my shoes and sweater and jewelry and was ready to go. In eight minutes. "I should have asked for a bet to be waged."

"You are right. But it's too late now", he said with a smile. He pulled on washed out black cargo shorts and a black t-shirt, and pushed his bare feet into black canvas deck shoes. "Ready."

"Do you think I can leave my gun at home?" I asked.

"Bring it here", said Ranger as he opened up his gun cabinet. I locked in my gun, and left my stun gun, utility belt, pepper spray, thigh holster and belt holster on a shelf in the closet. I left my cuffs in my bag. My purse was significantly lighter when I picked it up.

"You forget how much all that stuff weighs."

"I am surprised that you don't have back issues from carrying all that on one shoulder. It is a much better idea to wear it around your waist as a utility belt."

"I am starting to wear it that way when I go out to do captures. Not all the time. Some captures are better done with a little finesse. But some of the scary ones I am starting to do fully dressed – Kevlar and utility belt. But in-between wearing it on my waist, I am still carrying it in my purse. It is there if I ever need it but, more importantly, I have nothing else that I can do with it."

"Right. You don't have a lock box in your car under your seat, do you?"

"No, I don't. So I just keep it on me. That way, with the frequency my car gets stolen, I don't have to worry about my gun getting stolen as well."

Ranger led me out of the apartment and onto the elevator to do down. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?"

"Thank you. You look pretty hot yourself." I stepped closer and buried my nose in his shoulder. "You smell good, too." The elevator stopped and the doors opened. We stepped out and walked over to Ranger's Cayenne. Ranger held the door for me and waited until I had got in the car and put my seatbelt on before he shut the door. He got in his side and started the car, turning classical music on softly in the background.

"Why are we taking the Cayenne?" I asked.

"I am hoping to convince you to bring Rex back to my apartment for a few days, and we will need the room for the cage."

"Always thinking ahead, aren't you?"

"I try."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

By the time we arrived at the Manosa's, my stomach was rocking and rolling and I was shaking. "Deep breaths, Babe. If you can make it through Morelli's Grandma Bella, you can make it through my family." And that's the thing. I barely made it through Grandma Bella. She liked to curse me and she did so quite often. It didn't matter what I did, it was never good enough. I wouldn't class my dealings with Grandma Bella as being successful ones. "Besides, I will be right beside you the whole time, okay?"

"You know, meeting your family seemed much better in theory than it does right now."

"It will be all right. Have I ever lied to you?"

"Not that I know of. But maybe you are just such a good liar that I don't even know when you are lying to me."

"Babe."

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, I opened the car door and got out of the car. Ranger locked the car and engaged the car alarm, then placed his hand at the small of my back and guided me to his parents' house. I love it when he does that, and the warmth of his hand at the small of my back was both sexy and comforting at the same time. Ranger opened the door for me, and we walked in. Manosas came running from every direction, and Ranger and I were pulled into hugs with everybody, even the children. My nerves started to ease a bit.

Ranger's sisters, mother and grandmother were all little people, barely five feet tall. I towered over them, and since Ranger was much larger than me, he looked like a giant amongst his family. His dad was about my height, so Ranger was much larger than his father as well.

Mrs. Manoso led me into the living room to the loveseat, and indicated that Ranger and I should sit there. "What will you have to drink?" she asked.

"Water would be wonderful, please", I said.

"Carbonated or still?"

"Still, please", I said. Carbonated water always reminded me of farts in a bathtub and, once that image came to my mind a few years ago, I never wanted to drink carbonated water again.

I mentally ran over everyone's name in my head. Elena brought over the water and put it on the side table for me before sitting down. "I have to ask – how did you meet Ricky?"

I smiled and Ranger looked embarrassed. "If you call me Ricky in front of the guys, you are fired."

"'I don't know. I think it's kind of cute." I laughed at his discomfort. I turned to Elena to explain. "Ranger is only called Ranger, or boss, by his staff. They don't even call him Ricardo. So I knew of Ranger's name just like he knows my middle name, but just like he never uses my middle name and in fact it would throw him if he heard it used, it threw me for a minute when you called him Ricky. In answer to your question, though, I met Ranger a few years ago. He was the best bounty hunter in the business – still is – and I was an out-of-work lingerie buyer. I applied for a job with my cousin at the bail bonds office and was desperate to capture some skips so that I wouldn't get evicted from my apartment. Ranger helped me learn everything I know about being a bounty hunter, which doesn't say anything good about his teaching skills. I think at first he was telling me stuff in order to get me to go away and leave him alone. But I kept coming back for more lessons and, but the end of it, he had set me up in the business, taught me proper protocols and safety procedures, and had provided back-up for me many times. He still provides back-up and support for me periodically when I am doing bounty hunter business."

"Isn't that a dangerous job for a young, beautiful woman?" asked Mrs. Manoso.

"Thank you for the compliment. Most of what is required as a bounty hunter is really boring. You make lots of phone calls and knock on lots of doors, and your sit in a car until your body goes numb watching one particular house, waiting for one particular person. It involves a lot of luck. Sometimes it is a little more exciting, but eighty to ninety percent of the time it is pretty boring."

"But when it isn't boring, it is fun, right?" asked one of the boys, the older one, probably about twelve in age. I couldn't remember which sister he belonged to.

"No, the other ten to twenty percent of the time it is terrifying."

"Have you ever shot someone?" he asked with bloodthirsty relish.

I could feel my face go white. Ranger draped his arm across the back of the loveseat and started massaging the base of my neck.

"Carlos!" interjected Elena. "I am sorry for my son", she said to me.

"That's okay. It's a valid question. Yes, I have shot people and they are dark periods in my life that I prefer not to think about."

"What does dark periods in her life mean, Mama?" asked a little girl, about six in age.

"It means," said Elena, "that shooting someone, even if it is necessary, is a terrible thing to happen and will make you feel bad."

"That's right. If someone is threatening you, and it comes down to you shooting them or them shooting you, it still doesn't matter", I said. "The bad person is still someone's son, someone's brother, someone's friend. It takes a piece of your soul every time you shoot someone."

"But…" said Carlos.

"No buts, Carlos", said Ranger. Carlos, looking at his uncle, subsided. A silence descended upon the room.

"More recently, Stephanie has started working for me part-time", said Ranger. "She now does her skip chasing part-time and does research for me part-time. She has flex hours for the research and can work it around being a bounty hunter."

"Do you like working for Ricky?" asked Celia.

"There are definite perks. The regular pay being one. Being a bounty hunter pays per job so, if you don't capture anyone, you don't get paid anything. The benefits are also a bonus. The staff are supportive, a strong team, and the food is awesome. The work itself is boring, but I like the sense of accomplishment I feel when I find a particularly hidden piece of information. I'm very stubborn, and the job suits my personality. And working for Ranger is safe. I have just finished going through some unsafe periods in my life, and working at Rangeman, having the whole Rangeman team behind me, is making me feel much more secure. I don't know if I will always work at Rangeman, but for right now it is where I need to be." I took a sip of the ice water.

"What is Ricky like as a boss?" asked Rosa.

"Remember that I can hear you, and I can fire you at any time", Ranger teased in his deadpan way. I laughed.

"He is extremely fair, but his rules are his rules and everyone has to follow them. His word is law. There are no exceptions for anyone including himself. He leads by example and all his staff look up to and love him."

"When I am older I want to work at Rangeman", said Carlos.

"When you are much, much older we will talk about it", said Ranger. "I don't hire anyone under the age of twenty-five, even family. Until then, you need to stay out of trouble, learn well in school, and listen to your mother."

"What do you do?" I asked everyone in the room. "Grandma Rosa, you were the hostess in the restaurant? And Mr. and Mrs. Manoso, you used to run the restaurant? And Elena, you now run it?"

"Yes, that's true", said Elena.

"What do the rest of you do?"

"I am a stay-at-home mother", said Celia.

"Tough job."

"It can be. But rewarding as well. My husband is a chartered accountant. Elena's husband is the head chef at the restaurant, and Rosa is a librarian part-time, and looks after the house for my parents the rest of the time."

"Do you have children?" asked the little girl.

"No, I don't. But I do have a hamster." In my view, a hamster was a much better dependent than a child. Easier to look after, costs less, less sleepless nights. Of course, that is as long as the sound of the wheel squeaking doesn't keep you up.

"Really? What is it like, because I would really like a hamster and Mommy and Daddy keep saying 'no'."

"Having a hamster is like having any pet. It is a big responsibility. You have to feed them every day. You have to change their water every day. You have to clean out its cage once a week. You have to provide a safe place for it to live. You have to be gentle with them, and thoughtful of their feelings. They are living creatures that are dependent solely upon you, so that is why it is a big responsibility."

"I could do all that."

"That I something you have to take up with your parents. I don't know you well enough to know if you would be a good hamster owner."

"Do you have family?" asked Grandma Rosa.

"Yes, I do. Not as big as yours, but I do have family. My Grandma Mazur lives with my mother and father, and I have a sister, Valerie, who is married and has four little girls."

"I know this seems like you are on an interview panel", said Celia, "but until Friday we didn't even know Ricky was seeing anyone. He has told us nothing about you. We are quite curious about you."

"I am equally curious about all of you. Although Ranger and I have known each other for a few years, we only recently started dating."

"I can imagine Ricky would not have told you too much either. He doesn't share information easily. Ask away with whatever questions you have."

I turned to the children. "How old are all of you?" I asked. I found out I had guessed right. Elena's three children were aged twelve, ten and six. Celia's two were younger, at two and one. The two-year old walked over to me and put his hands up. I picked him up and put him on my knee, bouncing my knees around to give him a ride. He giggled with glee and, every time I stopped, he said "again".

"I think we have been grilling Stephanie long enough", said Elena. "It is time to make dinner."

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"No, thanks, I think we have it well in hand."

"Oh, thank goodness", I said with intense relief. Ranger let out a snort, and I could feel the laughter rumbling in his chest. When Elena looked at me in question, I explained that I didn't know how to cook. "But I am a mean hand at setting the table and doing dishes."

"You don't know how to cook?" asked Mrs. Manoso. "You poor thing!" Everyone was looking at me like they just discovered I was terminally ill. "You just sit there. You are our guest. The children set the table, so there is nothing for you to do."

"If you don't cook, what do you eat?" asked Cecelia, the little girl.

"I can make grilled cheese, and peanut butter and olive sandwiches, and cereal. I eat whatever Ella cooks, or my mother cooks, or what I can buy already cooked. Or I eat frozen foods, like a heated up lasagne from the grocery store. I mainly get by on what Ella cooks and what my mother cooks."

"Peanut butter and olive sandwiches?" Mrs. Manoso made a face. "We will send a doggie bag home with you."

William, Mr. Manoso and the womenfolk disappeared into the kitchen. Ranger got up and refilled my water, and I chatted with the kids about school. I was thankful that Val's kids were about the same age as Ranger's niece and nephews. It meant that I knew what to talk about.

"Now that my mother is out of the room," said Carlos, "what was it like to shoot someone?"

"Carlos!" said Gabriel in warning.

Ranger quietly came up behind Carlos and placed the ice cold glass of water against the back of the boy's neck, making the boy jump. "Your mother told you that you weren't supposed to talk about this anymore", Ranger said quietly. "And I don't want to hear you talk about it anymore either."

"I will answer the question first", I said. "It was upsetting and terrifying. You have nightmares about it for weeks afterwards, and it affects everything you do. It messes you up like nothing else you will ever go through. The doing it was easy. The second-guessing yourself afterwards, the sense of loss, the depression, all that is hard."

"Is that because you are a woman?" he asked. I sucked in a breath and tensed up.

"No", said Ranger, sitting down beside me and starting to massage the back of my neck again. "When you shoot someone you have literally taken the life of someone. Both Stephanie and I are in this business to protect people, so to have to shoot one of those people we have sworn to protect takes something out of you. As Stephanie says, it takes a bit of your soul. The more people you shoot, the more you feel like parts of your soul are missing. Shooting someone, no matter how necessary, feels like it lacks honour. I still have nightmares about the people I have shot in the line of duty. That is one of the main reasons I have a minimum age requirement in my company. I find that people younger than twenty-five do not understand the impact shooting someone can have on the shooter and are consequently trigger happy. I don't want a trigger happy person working for me."

"Do you play Barbies?" asked Cecelia.

"Yes", I said, grateful for the change in topic. "I used to play Barbies all the time when I was your age, and I still play them occasionally with my nieces. I like to pretend my Barbie is Wonder Woman. Or sometimes the Bionic Woman, depending upon whether my Barbie has dark hair or light."

"Who are they?"

"Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman?" When Cecelia nodded her head, I said "Wonder Woman is a woman who had superpowers. She fought the bad in society, she had all sorts of cool tools to use, like a magical lasso and an invisible plane, she was strong and she always came at the right time to save the day. You know it is unrealistic as she did it all without breaking a sweat or getting her hair mussed."

I heard a snort of laughter from Ranger and felt the rumble of laughter in his chest. "Really? The invisible plane and magical lasso didn't tip you off that it was unrealistic?"

I ignored him. "The Bionic Woman was a normal woman who, because of a skydiving accident, had parts of her body removed and replaced with manufactured, fake parts. These fake parts let her do all sorts of things that normal humans could not do. For example, she could lift a truck with one arm, or run faster than a car, or could hear better than anyone else. She was amazing."

"I think I would like to be Wonder Woman. I would like to have an invisible plane. Then I could leave late for school and get there early."

"Cecelia is a sleepyhead in the morning", said Carlos.

"So who are you named after?" I asked.

"I am named after Uncle Ricky", said Carlos. "He is my godfather. And Uncle Ricky is named after Grandpa."

"And I am named after Aunt Celia. She is my godmother", said Cecelia. "And she is named after my great-grandmother, who used to live in Florida before she died."

I looked at the ten-year old. "Roberto's name is Uncle Silvio's middle name. Uncle Silvio is his godfather. Roberto doesn't talk much. He is very shy", said Carlos, saying that like it was a character flaw.

"Your Uncle Ricky doesn't talk much either, and I find that he notices a lot more than most people as a result." Roberto smiled a shy but pleased smile. Apparently Ranger was a role model for more than just Carlos.

"What about you? How did you get your name?" asked Cecelia.

"My father was convinced that I was going to be a boy before I was born. He wanted to name me Stefano after his father. But I came out a girl. My father was disappointed and so my mother named me Stephanie to appease my father."

"Your father would have preferred boys?" asked Cecelia in a small voice.

"No, it turned out he was really happy to have had another girl. The main reason he wanted a boy was so he had someone to watch sports with and I watch sports with him all the time. So he is quite happy he had me", I said, crossing my fingers in the hopes that it was true.

"Why did you never have children?" asked Cecelia.

"If you have children, you need to love them and care for them, help them with their homework and soothe them out of bad dreams. You need to cook for them and clean for them and do their laundry. The responsibility sounds very intimidating to me and I have not yet met anyone who I think could change my mind on wanting to have children."

"What about Uncle Ricky?" asked Cecelia.

"Your uncle is pretty happy with Julie and does not want any more children." The two-year old slid down off my lap and ran over to his father, pulling on his pant leg in order to get up.

"I would like to have another girl cousin", said Cecelia. "Someone I could play Barbies with. I hardly know Julie. She doesn't come very often."

"That's because, squirt, Julie lives in Florida and that is a long way away", said Ranger.

The children were called to come to set the table. They got up en masse, and hurried into the bathroom to wash their hands. Gabriel got up and went to supervise.

"How are you holding up?" asked Ranger.

"Good. Your family is really nice."

"They are really curious, anyway. I didn't think it would be so much like the Inquisition."

"No, it is okay. At least they haven't asked me to marry you, like my mother has repeatedly asked you to marry me. And they haven't asked me if I am pregnant with your baby, like my grandmother has asked you, so we are doing well."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"I just came in for that last little bit. Did I hear you say that you are pregnant with Ricky's baby?" asked Rosa excitedly.

"No! Definitely not! I am a stress eater and, after the last person I shot, I ate everything in sight, which meant that I gained weight, gaining a whole clothing size in about three weeks. Because I gained weight so fast, everyone started asking me whether I was pregnant and my mother and grandmother were convinced I was lying when I denied it. They asked Ranger point blank to his face whether he was the father. This was before we had even started to go out together, so it was especially uncomfortable."

"Oh." Rosa sounded dejected.

"Ranger isn't planning on having any more kids and I think I make a better aunt than I would a mother. If I became a mom, I would have to change my job and my lifestyle and I like my life the way it is. Realistically speaking, I work too many hours and the hours are unpredictable. Definitely not a lifestyle conducive to good parenting."

"Oh. You got me all excited there for a second."

"I'm sorry."

"I actually came through to tell you that dinner is being served."

Ranger and I got up to wash our hands, and joined the table in the dining room. All the children were eating at the kitchen table, and the ten adults were squished around the dining room table.

"On Ranger's and my first date, we went to a seafood restaurant here in Newark that you had recommended, Elena. It was excellent."

"Did you go to Tattersly's?" asked Elena.

"Yes", said Ranger.

"Isn't that place wonderful? They have the best tuna steak there that I have ever tasted." A plate of barbequed chicken breasts, grilled to a caramel colour, were passed around, followed by a parmesan basil butter dip. Following the chicken was a variety of side dishes – asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, candied yams, and yellow summer squash. Also passed around was a bread basket of filled with cut pieces of French baguette.

"This all smells so good!" I exclaimed, taking a deep breath. "What kind of food do you serve at your restaurant?"

"We serve food on a par to Tattersly's, although Tattersly's is a seafood restaurant and we are more of a steak house. We have some fish on the menu, but mostly we have meats", said Elena.

"A woman after my own heart."

"You don't like fish?"

"I love some seafood, like shrimp and crab. But I was never brought up eating fish and so am not used to it. What I have had I like, but I think I will always prefer the heaviness of eating meat."

"So what did you order when you were at Tattersly's?"

"I ordered shrimp surf and turf. It was excellent."

"Someday soon you will have to try our restaurant", said Mr. Manoso. "If you like the heavier fare of meat over seafood, I think there would be many things on the menu that you would like. I am surprised Ricky didn't bring you to our restaurant to start off with, rather than take you to one of our competitors. Tsk, tsk, tsk!" he said with a finger wave and a smile.

"I understand why Ricky didn't take you to Manoso's", said Celia. "Look how much we have grilled Stephanie this evening. It would have been worse if it had been their first date. Instead this is date number…what?"

"This is date three outside the apartment. Ella has made us many special dinners which we have had inside the apartment."

"I can tell that Ricky is really serious about you. This is only your third date and he is already bringing you home to meet us? Fantastico!" said Mrs. Manoso.

"Don't be making this into something it isn't, Mama. Stephanie and I have known each other for years, but until recently she was in a long-term relationship with someone else. Just three weeks ago she broke it off with the other gentleman. It is too soon for either of us to think of anything more than day to day. Having said that, I know a lot about her family and have met all of them, whereas Stephanie knows little about you and had never had the opportunity to meet you. I thought it only fair to introduce you. That's it. I wasn't bringing her home to announce anything, but rather just to share my life with her."

"This dinner is out of this world. If you cook like this in your restaurant, you must have the most popular restaurant in Newark", I said.

"Thank you!" said Elena and William at the same time.

"Our restaurant has won Consumer's Choice awards for the last ten years running", said Mrs. Manoso proudly.

"I can see why. Are those the awards put out by the local paper?"

"Yes, they are."

"I will have to ask Ranger to take me to your restaurant. You have me curious."

"And curious is your middle name. You know what they say about curiosity, don't you?" teased Ranger. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought him back", I said with a smile. Everyone around the table laughed.

"That doesn't make much sense", said Ranger. "If a cat is dead, then a cat is dead. Nothing can bring a cat back to life."

"A cat has nine lives. Maybe it is coming back into another life."

"I can see you being a cat in another life. Independent, proud, lucky, and having an infinite number of lives."

"Thank you, I think? I always envisioned myself more like a dog. Dumb but loyal, overenthusiastic and dictated by food."

Ranger laughed. "I don't think that describes you very well at all, although the addicted to food might."

"I see you more as a panther", I said to Ranger. "All black, fast, dangerous, smart, a good hunter, quiet, independent."

"It's funny you should say that. I have always thought of Ricky as a panther as well", said Grandma Rosa. "He would have done well if he had stayed in the army."

"He does well now", I said. "He has the premier security company in Trenton. His company has grown so much he is doubling up on monitoring stations and has had to hire several new staff. And if Sales lands even a small portion of the files they have asked me to research, he may need to hire more people again."

"I have never seen Ricky's apartment. Have you?" asked Mrs. Manoso.

"Yes. I have used Ranger's apartment as a safe house many times."

"What does it look like?" Celia asked.

"It is a large one-bedroom. It is divided into two halves, his living area and his master suite. His living area consists of a Homes and Gardens type of kitchen, a classic and contemporary dining room and a living room. It is open concept. There is a hall and a half bath dividing the living area and the master suite. The master suite consists of a large five-piece bathroom, an enormous walk-in closet that is the same size as the bedroom that I grew up in, a large bedroom, and an office/den combination. The whole apartment is decorated in masculine neutrals – dark woods, brown leather furnishings, black, taupe and cream accents, walls the colour of chocolate milk, silver and black lamps. Artwork is decorator basic. The effect is pleasing and relaxing."

"Where do you sleep when you use his apartment as a safe house?" asked Grandma Rosa.

"The couch." I could see Ranger out of the corner of my eye and could see that he was thinking about smiling.

"So tell me", I said, "if Ranger is like a panther now, what was he like as a child?"

"He was more like a lion cub. He had a big roar, but no claws to give it any teeth. He was little for his age. He didn't grow into his height until much later. He fought a lot. He wasn't very good at fighting and was always getting into scrapes of one sort or another. When he was quite young, he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and would constantly tell people off if he thought they needed it. He got in a lot of trouble both in school and out. He started running with the wrong crowd when he was in his early teens and would do anything to try to get accepted by them. We ended up sending him down to live with his other grandmother in Miami for a few years. We just didn't have the time to help a troubled boy when we had the restaurant as well."

"You did all right, Mama", said Ranger. "Juvie for jacking the car, and then going down to Miami and having a chance to change friends, did me a world of good. And those early years taught me well. They taught me to listen and think before I speak, they taught me how to fight and how to live with my back to the wall, and they taught me how to blend in so I wouldn't be noticed. Without my childhood, I would not have been as successful as I was in the military, nor would I be as successful in my current career. Now, do you need help clearing the table for dessert?"

* * *

Dessert was homemade banana rum custard tart, and it was delicious. Ranger even had a tiny sliver.

After dinner, Ranger and I did the dishes while Elena, Celia and Rosa put the clean dishes away. Rosa told me about the children's program that she was implementing in the library where she worked, and Celia told me about the volunteer work she was doing in her children's school. Elena told us about a problem that she was having with inconsistent quality with one of her suppliers, and I told them about some of the funny arrests that people had skipped out on.

At the end of doing dishes, I asked whether there were any pictures of Ranger as a child. "Now you've done it", said Ranger as he led me back to the loveseat in the living room. Mrs. Manoso popped up. "Oh, yes. I was just looking at the album the other day. I will get it to show you."

She came back into the room carrying an album about two inches thick. Ranger exchanged seats with her, and she lovingly showed me all the pictures, including the newspaper articles about Ranger's unit and work that he had done while he was still in the Special Forces. I paused over the articles about Julie's kidnapping. I saw my name in them. "I forgot that the paper made a mention of me when Julie was kidnapped."

Mrs. Manoso looked. "That's you? Thank you for looking after Julie the way you did. You could have ignored that little girl, yet you put your life in danger to help her. I remember Ricky telling us about you. I remember how amazed I was that someone would be so caring as to look out for a little girl like that, but I did not put that person that helped Julie together with you. I'm sorry. I should have put it together right away."

"No, you shouldn't have. I think that whole identity theft case is something we would all like to forget. There is nothing scarier than terror for a loved one and not being able to do anything about it."

"True. You feel so helpless", said Mrs. Manoso.

"Gabriel, that happened just before you started seeing Celia", said Ranger. "My daughter was kidnapped by someone who was trying to steal my identity. Stephanie and I worked together to try to figure out what was going on. That was a time when I used her apartment as a safe house. It was Stephanie who figured out who the guy was, and then she volunteered herself to be kidnapped so that she could look after my daughter", said Ranger.

"That's very brave of you", said Gabriel.

"A little girl's life was at stake. Besides, Ranger would have done it for me. In fact, he has found me several times when I have been kidnapped."

"You've been kidnapped several times?" asked Grandma Rosa, crossing herself.

"Yes. My skips aren't always nice people with good intentions. But the key thing is that Ranger has always found me. That's the most important part."

"He can't be there all the time", said Rosa. "What happens if next time he can't be there?"

"The bonds office staff call him Batman – not to his face, but behind his back." I felt Ranger's half-smile. "And Batman is always there when you need him. But in the event where I haven't been able to go to Ranger for help, like when he has been picking up skips from out of state or out of country, I have gone to Tank or some of the other guys on the Rangeman team for help, and I have friends in the police department as well. I have lots of protectors. It's just that Ranger is the best and my favourite."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"I should get Stephanie home", said Ranger. "She has been working a lot of hours lately and has been really tired. Today is the first day off she has had in over two months."

"Then we are honoured you chose to spend it with us", said Elena.

Ranger pulled me to my feet. The Manosos all walked outside with us. "Looks like somebody is having a party next door", commented Ranger. The house was decorated with streamers and bells and pots of flowers. There was a couple emerging from the house at the same time as we were, and they also were saying goodbye to their family. A car was waiting for them at the curb with tin cans attached by string to the rear bumper. From what they were saying, it appeared as though the couple had just gotten married and were being sent on their way. Of course, the tin cans on the car were also a clue.

As I was giving Mrs. Manoso a hug goodbye, I saw a lady with black bristly hair slip out of the house, throwing confetti on the couple. I went completely still. I was looking at Aphrodite Akuna.

I turned to Ranger. "Remember Aphrodite, the lady that approached us in the pub who I later found out was my skip? I think that is Aphrodite right there, the one in the black robe." Ranger looked. "I'm going over." I reached in my purse and pulled out my cuffs, then gave my purse to Ranger.

"Excuse us a minute", said Ranger to his family. He put my purse in the car and then, still and focused, he watched me walk away.

Aphrodite started to walk away. I walked faster in pursuit, and called Aphrodite's name. Aphrodite looked up, and recognition crossed her face before she turned and started to run. I set up chase after her, and Ranger set up chase after me. She was fast. I chased her for the whole of the block, finally tackling her just before she crossed the street. I skidded across the sidewalk, grazing my knees and hands, but was able to pull her to the ground. We rolled around in the dirt of someone's garden, crushing plants, me trying to get cuffs on Aphrodite and Aphrodite spitting and hissing and trying to bite me as she attempted to get away. I finally snagged one of her wrists. "Bond enforcement", I said and, flipping her over onto her stomach, secured her other wrist. I paused to catch my breath.

"Babe."

"I showed my underpants to your family and neighbours, didn't I?"

"It's okay. I think I was the only one who noticed."

"What are you doing to our minister?" asked the bride, just catching up with us.

"This lady is not a minister. She has been arrested for performing marriages when she has not been authorized to do so. This means that, if she just "married" you, you are no more married than you were yesterday. You are still legally single. She was released on a bond and failed to appear in court. This means that not only were you married by someone who was not authorized to marry you, but you were married by a fugitive of the court system. She needs to go back into the police station to reschedule her court date."

"Oh, my, God", said the bride. "What do we do?"

"Personally I would remember the reception as being a wonderful reception, chalk this up as a good story to tell the grandkids, and head off to city hall to get married as soon as you are able to", I said.

Ranger pulled Aphrodite to her feet, helped me up, and the caravan of people – Ranger, me and Aphrodite, most of the Manoso family, and the entire neighbouring family – all walked down the street back to the waiting cars.

"I will marry you if you let me go", pleaded Aphrodite. "You two deserve to be together. Anyone can see how dedicated you are to each other."

"We already know that your marriages are null and void, so why would you offer that? You are on a small charge. You will probably just get community time. It's no big deal. However, by not going to court you are making yourself look bad. The courts don't tend to like that, so you may want to show up for your next court date. How did you recognize me?"

"I was in the office on the way to the train station when you came in to ask about me. I peeked into the reception area, then watched you walk out of the office back to your car. I recognized you from then."

We got to the cars. The bride was crying, the groom looked upset that his bride was crying, Grandma Rosa was wringing her hands, Mrs. Manoso was worried about my skinned knees, Cecelia was in William's arms asking what was going on, Gabriel and Celia were holding their two little ones and asking what had happened, and even Roberto was talking as he and Carlos, energized, laughing, gave a blow-by-blow commentary to everyone who had missed the takedown.

Ranger put Aphrodite in the backseat of the Cayenne. "Do we have a couple of minutes to let me get cleaned up before we go home?" I asked.

Ranger looked at me and smiled. His eyes went dark as he said "for you, anything. Although I think I will like getting you clean when we get home."

Mrs. Manoso smacked her son on the arm. "Behave, Ricky. This is a wonderful woman here. Treat her with respect." She took my hand and led me in the house to the bathroom. She got me a clean facecloth and towel, and came back a few minutes later with gauze and antiseptic cream.

I ran some water in the sink and washed my hands. The soap stung against the scrapes. I washed my skinned knees, sitting down on the closed toilet seat while I daubed them dry with the towel. Mrs. Manoso then took over. She fashioned bandages out of the gauze and spread on antiseptic cream. She taped them to my knees. The antiseptic cream felt good against the oozing scrapes.

"I am sorry I ruined your dinner party tonight."

"You didn't ruin it! Goodness, for Carlos and Roberto, you just made their day and probably their week. Maybe even their month."

"I ruined the neighbour's wedding. I didn't mean to. It is just that I have been chasing Aphrodite for a few days."

"Don't worry about it. They will live and, as you said, they will have a humdinger of a story to tell their grandkids."

"My ex-boyfriend used to say that I always land in doggie doo-doo, that nothing ever goes right with me."

"What does Ricky say?"

"He doesn't really say anything. He just picks me up, cleans me off, sets me on my feet, and lets me do it all over again."

"Isn't that the better way to live? We all need people to support us, no matter what we do. We all need people to love us."

We got to the front hall and Mrs. Manoso took out a clothes brush from the front closet. She brushed the worst of the dirt from my dress, then gave me a hug. "You are good for Ricky. I can see why he loves you. I hope to see you again soon."

"Thank you", I whispered. I turned around and went outside. Ranger had put the seatbelt on Aphrodite and had powered down the windows to give her some fresh air. He was talking to his father, William and Gabriel, but as soon as I stepped on the front porch he looked up and gave me one of his half smiles.

I came down the porch stairs and gave hugs to the entire Manoso family, thanking them for a lovely meal and a nice evening, and apologizing once again for the disturbance I had caused at the end. Everyone was remarkably easy-going about it.

I got in the car and Ranger softly shut the door after me. He walked around the car and got in the driver's side. He put the car in gear and drove away.

"Now, about cardio training…"


End file.
